IRLF 


SB    317    IDE 


GAS 
LIGHTING 


H.S.NORRI 


REESE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Deceived  ,190     . 

Accession  No. 92413    • '  Class  No. 


f 


rib 


ELECTRIC 
GAS  LIGHTING 

HOW    TO    INSTALL 

ELECTRIC   GAS   IGNITING  APPARATUS 

INCLUDING   THE  JUMP   SPARK 

AND  MULTIPLE  SYSTEMS 

FOR  USE  IN 

HOUSES,    CHURCHES,    THEATRES,     HALLS,    SCHOOLS, 
STORES  OR  ANY  LARGE  BUILDINGS 


ALSO  THE  CARE  AND  SELECTION  OF  SUITABLE  BATTERIES. 
WIRING  AND  REPAIRS 


By  H.  S.  NORRIE 

(NORMAN  H.  ^HNEIDER) 
(Author  o_f '  " Induction  Coils  and  Coil 


NEW  YORK  LONDON 

SPON   &   CHAMBERLAIN  E.  &  F.  N.  SPON,  LIMITED, 

12  CORTLANDT  STREET  125   STRAND 

I9OI 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1901 

By  SPON  &  CHAMBERLAIN 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,   Washington,  D.  C. 


RINTING   HOUSE,    FRANKFORT  AND  JACOB  8TS.,  N.Y. 


PREFACE 

THE  Electric  Light  possesses  the  great  ad- 
vantage over  gas,  in  that  it  can  be  turned  on 
or  lighted  from  a  distance.  The  customary 
means  of  igniting  gas  with  a  match  or  taper  is 
both  dangerous  and  often  inconvenient.  The 
inventive  genius  of  modern  times  has  evolved 
a  means  of  lighting  gas  by  electricity 
which  is  both  reliable  and  easy  of  appli- 
cation. It  requires  no  very  complicated  de- 
vices, nor  does  it  necessitate  a  deep  knowl- 
edge of  electrical  matters  for  its  installation. 
The  object  of  the  following  pages  is  to  enable 
any  one  possessing  ordinary  mechanical  ability 
to  construct  much  of  the  apparatus  used,  or  at 
least  to  successfully  erect  it  and  keep  it  in 
operation. 

We  beg  to  thank  the  following  firms  for  the 
use  of  illustrations :  Edwards  &  Co.,  Mott  Ha- 
ven, New  York;  A.  L.  Bogart,  New  York; 
Wm.  Roche,  New  York ;  The  Electric  Gas- 
Lighting  Co.,  Boston,  Mass.,  and  The  Manhat- 
tan Electrical  Supply  Co.,  New  York. 

92413 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

PAGE 

Introduction ;  means  of  producing  sparks ;  In- 
duction— Simple  induction  coils — Ruhmkorff  Coils  I 

CHAPTER  II. 
MULTIPLE  GAS  LIGHTING. 

Application  of  induction  coils  to  gas-lighting — 
Forms  of  burners  used — Pendant  Burners — Ratchet 
Burners — Stem  Burners — Welsbach  Burners — Burn- 
ers for  Acetylene  Gas— Burners  for  Gasolene — 
Automatic  Burners 7 

CHAPTER  III. 
CONNECTIONS  AND  WIRING. 

How  to  connect  up  apparatus — Wiring  a  house 
— Locating  breaks  or  short-circuits — Wiring  in 
finished  houses — General  remarks 26 


vi  Contents 

CHAPTER  IV." 

PRIMARY  COILS  AND  SAFETY  DEVICES. 

PAGE 

How  to  make  a  simple  induction  coil — Automatic 
Cut-outs — The  Syracuse  Cut-out — Boston  Cut-out 
— Edwards'  Cut-out 46 

CHAPTER  V. 
LIGHTING  OF  LARGE  BUILDINGS. 

Series  or  Jump  Spark  System — Burners  used — 
How  to  Wire — Edwards'  Condenser  System — 
Switches  for  series  lighting — How  to  make  a  2- 
inch  spark,  Ruhmkorff  Coil 55 

CHAPTER  VI. 
How  TO  SELECT  BATTERIES  FOR  GAS  LIGHTING. 

Electrical  Rules — Electromotive  force — Amperes 
— Resistance — Selecting  a  battery — Arrangement  of 
battery — Series — Multiple- — How  to  get  high  voltage 
or  large  current — The  Leclanche  Cell — The  Sam- 
son Cell — The  Dry  Cell  and  how  to  make  one — The 
Edison-Lalande  Cell — The  Fuller  Cell — Care  and 
maintenance  of  batteries 78 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

FRONTISPIECE — COMPLETE    WIRING    PLAN    FOR   A 
HOUSE. 

1  DIAGRAM  OF  SIMPLE  CIRCUIT 2 

2  DIAGRAM  OF  SIMPLE  CIRCUIT  WITH  SPIRAL 2 

3  DIAGRAM  OF  SIMPLE  CIRCUIT  WITH   SPIRAL  AND 

GALVANOMETER   2 

4  DIAGRAM  OF  CIRCUIT  WITH  IRON  CORE 4 

5  DIAGRAM  OF  RUHMKORFF  COIL, 4 

6  ELEVATION  OF  RUHMKORFF  COIL 6 

7  PENDANT  BURNER 7 

8  BURNER  CIRCUIT  . . .  '. 8 

9  PLAIN  BURNER 10 

10  RATCHET  BURNER 1 1 

11  STIFF-PULL  PENDANT 12 

12  STEM  BURNER  14 

13  ARGAND  BURNER  15 

14  WELSBACH  BURNER  16 

15  ACETYLENE  BURNER  17 

16  PUSH  BUTTON  19 

17  BARTHOLDI  BURNER   21 

18  BOSTON  AUTOMATIC  22 

19  CONCEALED  AUTOMATIC 24 

20  DIAGRAM  WIRING  ONE  "AUTOMATIC"  FROM  Two 

PUSHES 27 

21  DIAGRAM  WIRING  ONE  "AUTOMATIC"  AND  Two 

PENDANT  BURNERS 28 

22  SIMPLE  SWITCH  CONNECTIONS 33 

23  DETAILS  OF  AUTOMATIC  CONNECTIONS 35 

24  DETAILS  OF  CELLAR  AUTOMATIC  CIRCUITS 35 

25  NUT  WRENCH  40 


viii  List  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

26  AUTOMATIC  OPERATED  BY  DOOR-TRIP 44 

27  PRIMARY  COIL 46 

28  SYRACUSE  CUT-OUT •. .  50 

29  BOSTON  CUT-OUT  51 

30  DETAILS    CUT-OUT   ROD — NORMAL 52 

31  DETAILS   CUT-OUT  ROD — OPERATING 53 

32  BULB  CUT-OUT  54 

33  JUMP  SPARK  BURNER 56 

34  WELSBACH  BURNER  FOR  SERIES  LIGHTING 56 

35  PILLAR  BURNER 56 

36  CIRCUIT  FOR  JUMP  SPARK  GAS  LIGHTING 57 

37  INSULATOR.   . 59 

38  EDWARDS'  CONDENSER  60 

39  EDWARDS'  BURNER  61 

40  EDWARDS'  BURNER  61 

41  DIAGRAM  OF  EDWARDS'  CONDENSER  CIRCUIT 62 

42  CIRCUIT  FOR  JUMP  SPARK  SWITCH 64 

43  ELECTROMAGNETIC   TRAILER 66 

44  DIAGRAM  OF  RUHMKORFF  COIL  CIRCUIT 68 

45  WINDINGS  OF  SECTIONS     73 

46  SECTIONAL   DIAGRAM  . .  74 

47  CONTACT   BREAKER 75 

48  CONTACT    KEY  76 

49  FALL  OF  POTENTIAL  DIAGRAM 79 

50  SERIES  ARRANGEMENT  81 

51  MULTIPLE  ARRANGEMENT  82 

52  LECLANCHE  CELL 84 

53  SAMSON  CELL   87 

54  NEW  STANDARD  CELL 90 

55  EDISON-LALANDE  CELL   92 

56  FULLER  CELL  94 

57  GRENET  CELL  , 95 


•^^••-.(^ 

CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

THE  enormous  number  of  fires  arising  from 
the  use  of  matches,  and  the  great  con- 
venience and  freedom  from  danger  of  the 
electric  method  of  gas  lighting,  are  alone  suf- 
ficient reasons  for  the  issue  of  these  pages. 

The  veriest  tyro  in  electrical  operations 
knows  that  electricity  will  cause  a  spark,  and 
most  persons  are  aware  that  the  spark  pos- 
sesses considerable  deflagratory  powers,  vary- 
ing with  the  character  of  the  spark.  In  elec- 
tric gas  lighting  a  spark  of  the  proper  charac- 
ter is  passed  across  a  jet  of  gas  and  ignites  it. 
Sparks  can  be  produced  by  various  means : 
friction,  battery  current,  induction  either  gal- 
vanic or  electro-magnetic,  by  a  Wimshurst  or 
Toepler  Holtz  machine,  or  an  induction  coil 
operated  by  a  battery.  For  our  purposes  we 
will  consider  only  the  latter;  the  former  are 
rarely  used,  being  uncertain  and  unwieldy. 
•H  Of  batteries  there  are  many  kinds,  and  af- 


2  Gas  Lighting 

though  all  will  produce  sparks,  yet  for  electric 
gas  lighting  those  made  for  intermittent  work 
and  classed  as  open  circuit  cells  are  to  be  pre- 
ferred. Open  circuit  batteries,  which  will  be 
fully  described  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  in- 
clude the  Leclanche,  and  most  of  the  so-called 
"dry"  cells. 

If  two  wires  be  attached  to  a  cell  of  battery 
B,   one   to   the   carbon   or   positive   pole   and 


FIG.  i. 


FIG.  2. 


FIG.  3. 


the  other  to  the  zinc  or  negative  pole, 
and  their  free  ends  be  tapped  together,  minute 
sparks  at  C  will  be  observed  each  time  the 
wires  separate  (Fig.  i).  If  now  a  coil  of  in- 
sulated wire  5  be  included  in  the  circuit,  Fig. 
2,  upon  repeating  the  make  and  break  of  con- 


Introductory  Remarks  3 

tact,  the  sparks  will  be  much  increased.  This 
arises  from  induction,  each  adjacent  turn  of 
wire  acting  upon  its  neighbor.  To  better 
understand  the  action  of  induction,  we  will 
consider  the  following  examples :  Fig  3.  A 
is  a  circuit  in  which  is  the  battery  cell  B. 
C  is  a  second  circuit  lying  close  to  but  well 
insulated  from  circuit  A.  G  is  a  galvanom- 
eter in  which  a  magnetized  needle  swings 
right  or  left  each  time  a  current  is  passed 
through  a  coil  of  wire  encircling  it.  Now, 
although  there  is  no  battery  cell  in  circuit  C, 
yet  the  needle  will  swing  each  time  the  circuit 
A  is  closed  or  opened;  that  is,  each  time 
the  wire  ends  are  touched  together  or 
separated.  This  swing  of  course  indicates 
that  a  current  is  passing  through  cir- 
cuit C,  but  as  there  is  no  battery  or 
other  source  of  electrical  energy  included 
in  it,  it  is  clear  that  it  arises  from  the  action  of 
the  current  in  circuit  A.  In  point  of  fact, 
the  needle  swings  one  way  when  the  circuit 
is  closed  and  the  reverse  way  when  it  is 
opened;  but  the  greater  swing  on  opening 
the  circuit  indicates  the  greater  strength  of 
the  induced  current  at  the  moment  the  current 
ceases  to  flow  in  circuit  A.  Note  that  these 


4  Gas  Lighting 

current  impulses  are  only  momentary.  In 
the  case  of  our  single  coil,  Fig.  2,  each  turn 
of  wire  acted  upon  itself  in  a  similar  manner 
to  the  circuit  A  upon  circuit  C. 

An  iron  rod  or  bundle  of  iron  wires,  P,  in- 
serted in  the  coil,  Fig.  4,  but  carefully 
insulated  from  it,  will  immensely  increase  the 


FIG.  4. 


FIG.  5. 


inductive  effects  and  consequently  the  spark. 
This  arrangement  constitutes  the  simple  pri- 
mary coil  used  in  pull-down  or  pendant  and 
automatic  burners.  This  spark  is  often  a 
source  of  inconvenience ;  it  appears  wherever 
a  circuit  including  similar  coils  is  made  and 
broken.  In  telegraph  apparatus  at  key  and 
relay  contacts  it  is  noticeable ;  in  fact,  the 
writer  has  used  temporarily  a  pair  of  electro- 
magnets from  a  telegraph  sounder  and  ob- 


Introductory  Remarks  5 

tained  spark  enough  to  operate  a  gas  lighting 
burner. 

To  produce  a  long  spark  which  will  jump 
across  an  air  gap,  a  more  complicated  form 
of  coil  is  needed,  one  which  more  closely  cor- 
responds to  the  experiment  noted  in  Fig.  3. 
The  simple  primary  coil  has  here  another  coil 
of  finer  wire,  S,  wound  on  it  but  carefully  in- 
sulated from  it  (Fig.  5).  This  second  coil,  or 
"secondary,"  has  a  vast  number  of  turns  of 
fine  wire  as  compared  with  the  primary,  which 
has  only  comparatively  few  turns  of  coarse 
wire.  A  primary  coil  of  40  feet  of  No.  14 
B.  &  S.  copper  wire  would  be  inserted  in  a 
secondary  coil  of  perhaps  16,000  feet  of  No. 
36  B.  &  S.  This  secondary  coil,  in  fact  all 
the  apparatus  constituting  the  induction  coil, 
must  be  most  highly  insulated,  as  the  elec- 
tromotive force  of  the  spark  is  tremendous, 
and  it  would  be  liable  to  pierce  its  way  through 
and  into  the  internal  winding  and  so  destroy 
the  apparatus.  The  circuit  in  the  primary  is 
made  and  broken  either  by  a  hand  key  or  by 
an  automatic  contact-breaker  at  C.  With  a 
large  coil,  the  intensity  of  the  spark  at  G  is' 
such  that  it  will  jump  an  air-gap  of  from  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  to  over  three  feet.  * 

*  See  Norrie,  Induction  Coils  and  Coil-Making. 


6  Gas  Lighting 

This    combination    of    coils    and    contact- 
breaker  is  generally  known  as  a  Ruhmkorff 


FIG.  6. 

i 

or  intensity  coil,  and  is  shown  in  elevation  in 
Fig.  6.   . 


CHAPTER  II. 
MULTIPLE  GAS  LIGHTING. 

As  we  have  already  seen  how  a  spark  is 
exhibited  at  an  interrupted  contact,  the  means 
of  its  application  to  gas  lighting  will  be  con- 


FIG.  7. 

sidered.      Fig.  7  represents  the  most  generally 
used  kind  of  electric  gas  burner  or  "pendant 


burner."  Its  application  is  shown  in  Fig.  8. 
The  wire  W  from  the  coil  C  is  attached 
to  the  brass  insulated  collar  carrying  the  con- 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting  g 

tact  S.  The  other  wire  from  coil  C  and 
battery  B  is  attached  to  the  gas  pipe  G.  As 
the  burner  is  also  screwed  into  the  gas  pipe 
itself,  the  circuit  would  be  closed  were  it  not 
for  the  gap  at  A  on  the  burner,  caused  by  the 
collar  carrying  the  contact  C  and  wire  W, 
being  insulated  from  the  burner  pillar  P. 
When,  however,  a  pull  is  given  to  the  burner 
arm  chain  so  as  to  cause  the  end  of  the  spring 
R  to  strike  contact  C  in  passing,  contact  is 
made  and  broken,  and  a  spark  passes  which 
ignites  the  gas  issuing  from  the  burner  tip, 
'the  gas  having  previously  been  turned  on. 
A  piece  of  chain  with  a  metal  ball  is  attached 
to  the  burner  arm  in  order  to  pull  it  down.  In 
this  class  of  burner  there  are  many  different 
makes  differing  only  in  minor  details. 

Fig.  9  shows  a  form  of  pendant  burner 
which  has  no  platinum  contact,  but  has  a 
broad  lug  on  the  insulated  collar  which  is 
scraped  against  by  the  spiral  spring  when  the 
arm  is  pulled  down.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
lug  is  not  held  by  an  insulated  collar  on  the 
burner  top,  but  is  on  the  extension  of  an  arm 
attached  to  the  burner  pillar  by  a  large  screw 
and  insulating  washers.  The  circuit  wire  goes 
under  the  smaller  screw  seen  on  the  lower  part 


10  Gas  Lighting 

of  the  contact  arm,  this  forming  a  strong  and 
neat  form  of  attachment. 

Now   it   has   heretofore   been   necessary   to 
turn  on  the  gas  before  pulling  the  chain  of  a 


FIG.  9. 

pendant  burner,  but  as  this  is  not  always  de- 
sirable the  ratchet  burner  is  made.  Fig  10 
shows  burner  carrying  a  toothed  wheel,  which 
is  partly  rotated  when  the  arm  is  pulled 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting  II 

down.  This  wheel  is  mounted  on  the  stem 
of  a  valve  which  opens  or  shuts  according  to 
the  point  of  rotation,  and  thus  shuts  off  or 
admits  the  gas  to  flow  up  to  the  burner.  One 


FIG.  10. 


pull  of  the  arm  turns  the  gas  on ;  at  the  same 
time  the  wipe  spring  touches  the  contact  on 
burner  collar,  and  the  gas  lights.  A  second 
pull  and  the  wheel,  rotating,  turns  off  the  gas. 


12  Gas  Lighting 

In  all  burners  of  this  class  a  spring  is  pro- 
vided to  carry  the  arm  up  and  back  into  its 
original  position  ready  for  another  pull.  Some 
burners  do  not  make  contact  when  the  arm 
flies  back,  thus  saving  battery  current. 


ii. 


Fig.  ii  is  an  improved  form  of  burner 
wherein  the  movable  electrode  does  not  pass 
th'rough  the  gas  flame,  neither  do  the  electrodes 
come  in  contact  with  each  other  when  the  gas  is 


• 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting  13 

being  turned  off.  Reference  to  the  cut  will 
show  a  pin  protruding  from  the  base  of  the 
coiled  spring  electrodes,  which  pin  is  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  come  in  contact  with  the  short 
end  of  the  .pull-arm.  When  this  pull-arm  is 
pulled  down  it  pushes  up  this  pin,  elongating 
the  spiral  spring  electrode  sufficiently  to  make 
and  break  contact  at  the  fixed  electrode  on  the 
burner  collar.  This  burner  can  be  fitted  with 
a  porcelain  candle  slip  if  desired  to  match  the. 
imitation  candle  burners. 


STEM  BURNERS. 

Objection  is  sometimes  made  to  the  ordinary 
chain  pulls  from  the  fact  that  they  jar  the 
fixtures,  and  also  are  liable  to  bend  the  fixture 
branches  from  the  strain  used  in  operating 
the  arm.  To  overcome  these  objections  the 
stem  style  of  burner  is  manufactured  (see 
Fig  12).  This  stem,  it  will  be  seen,  carries 
a  convenient  key  at  the  end,  which  is  turned 
either  right  or  left  as  in  an  ordinary  gas-cock. 
The  moving  contact  only  makes  contact  when 
the  gas  is  being  turned  on  and  lighted.  When 
turning  it  off,  the  arm  is  retracted  so  as  not 


14  Gas  Lighting 

to  touch  the  fixed  electrode,  thus  saving  bat- 
tery current. 


FIG.  12. 

Fig.  13  is  a  simple  lighting  attachment  for 
an*Argand  burner.  The  moving  lever  which 
carries  the  pull  has  a  German  silver  spiral 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting 


i5 


spring  on  its  top  end.  This  strikes  against 
the  lug  projecting  from  the  circuit-wire  arm 
and  makes  a  spark.  The  lower  part  of  the 
circuit-wire  arm  has  a  screw  and  washers  for 


FIG.  13. 


ready  attachment,   and   is   strongly   and   sub- 
stantially made. 

A  means  of  igniting  the  gas  from  a  Wels- 
bach  burner  is  shown  in  Fig.  14,  and  is  so 
simple  as  to  need  no  further  explanation. 


1 6  Gas  Lighting 

ACETYLENE  BURNERS. 

Owing  to  the  deposits  of  carbon,  it  is 
necessary  to  construct  burners  for  acetylene 
gas  in  a  different  and  more  substantial  man- 
ner than  those  designed  for  coal  gas. 


FIG.  14. 

The  best  arrangement  is  depicted  in  Fig  15, 
which  has  a  pilot-tube  burner  as  well  as  the 
two  main  tips.  On  turning  the  key,  gas  is 
admitted  to  both  main  and  pilot  burners,  but 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting  17 

the  electrode  in  breaking  contact  only  ignites 
the  gas  at  pilot  burner,   which,   in   its   turn, 


FIG.  15. 


i8  Gas  Lighting 

acts  as  a  lighter  for  the  main  burner.  Turn- 
ing the  main  burner  out,  the  pilot  light  can 
be  left  burning  if  desired,  giving  a  small  light, 
it  being  not  feasible  to  turn  down  the  main 
burner  owing  to  the  before-mentioned  car- 
bonization. 

The  orifice  of  an  acetylene  burner  is  much 
smaller  than  that  of  a  coal  gas  burner,  the 
former  burning  about  one-half  foot  per  hour, 
against  six  or  seven  feet  of  the  latter. 


BURNERS  FOR  GASOLENE. 

The  flame  from  this  gas  is  hotter  than  that 
of  coal  gas,  and  deposits  so  much  more  carbon 
that  a  slight  modification  is  necessary  in  the 
construction  of  burners  for  it.  The  details  can 
be  readily  seen  on  observation  of  a  burner,  be- 
ing simply  in  the  adjustment  of  the  contacts 
and  their  operation.  It  is  better,  however,  to  use 
a  larger  coil  and  a  stronger  battery  for  gaso- 
lene gas  lighting  than  would  be  needed  for 
coal  gas — say,  6  cells  of  Samson,  or  large-size 
New  Standard  dry  battery  and  a  lo-inch  coil 
having  about  4  pounds  or  more  of  wire  on  it. 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting  19 

AUTOMATIC  BURNERS. 

There  are  several  forms  of  these  burners, 
but  the  principle  of  all  is  the  same.  A  gas 
burner  protrudes  from  the  top  of  a  brass 
case  which  encloses  the  actuating  mechanism. 
This  mechanism  consists  generally  of  two 
electro-magnets,  the  armature  of  one  opening 


FIG.  16. 

the  valve  and  allowing  the  gas  to  flow,  at  the 
same  time  vibrating  a  platinum-tipped  rod 
against  an  electrode  upon  the  burner  collar. 
This  produces  a  series  of  sparks  at  the  burner 
tip  which  ignites  the  gas.  A  second  magnet 
is  provided  which  shuts  the  valve  and  ex- 
tinguishes the  gas.  Some  devices  use  one 


2O  Gas  Lighting 

electro-magnet  to  both  open  and  close  the 
valve,  but  the  majority  have  double  electro- 
magnets. The  circuit  is  worked  from  a  push 
button,  Fig.  16,  situated  wherever  desired; 
pressure  on  a  white  button  lights  the  gas  and 
on  a  black  one  shuts  it  off. 

BARTHOLDI  AUTOMATIC  BURNER. 

Instead  of  a  rotating  stop-cock,  as  in  other 
automatics,  a  gravity  valve  is  employed  in 
the  Bartholdi,  which  is  held  to  its  seat  by  the 
weight  of  the  armature  and  connecting  stem, 
as  shown  in  figure  17.  When  the  gas  is 
turned  off  the  valve  rests  upon  its  seat,  as 
indicated  in  the  cut.  By  a  closure  of  the  elec- 
tric circuit  at  the  turn-on  button,  two  of  the 
helices  M  P  are  energized,  causing  the  arma- 
ture /  to  be  lifted,  thus,  by  means  of  the  stem 
H,  raising  the  valve  G  from  its  seat  into  the 
dotted  position,  and  opening  the  gas  way  so 
that  the  gas  may  issue  to  the  tip,  as  shown  by 
the  arrows.  At  the  same  time,  the  top  of  the 
valve  strikes  against  the  end  of  the  lever  W, 
causing  the  circuit  to  be  broken  at  the 
spark  points  T  U,  resulting  in  a  con- 
tinuous sparking  as  long  as  the  finger 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting 


21 


presses     the     button.      The     magnet     when 
raising    the    armature    has    also    twisted    or 


FIG.  17. 

partially  revolved  it,  so  as  to  bring  the  notch 
d  in  the  armature  over  the  end  of  the  hook  e, 
as  shown  in  the  dotted  lines.  When  the  circuit 
is  broken  by  lifting  the  finger  from  the  button, 
the  notch  falls  into  the  hook  and  the  valve  is 
locked  open. 


22 


Gas  Lighting" 


To  extinguish  the  flame  the  turn-off  button 
is  pressed,  when  a  second  magnet  (not  shown 
in  cut)  lifts  the  armature  and  twists  it  in  the 
opposite  direction,  so  that  when  the  circuit  is 


FIG.  1 8. 

broken  the  armature  falls  free  to  its  normal 
position,  closing  the  valve. 

THE  ADVANCE  AUTOMATIC. 

This  automatic  burner,  Fig.  18,  is  typical  of 
the  class  having  two  magnets,   one  to   open 


.     Multiple  Gas  Lighting  23 

valve  and  light  gas,  and  another  to  close  valve 
and  extinguish  the  light.  It  embodies  an  im- 
provement over  the  older  types  of  burners  in 
that  the  binding  posts  are  mounted  on  a  rub- 
ber strip  held  by  two  screws,  thus  preventing 
the  twisting  and  loosening  so  common  here- 
tofore. It  also  allows  of  the  valve  being 
opened  and  gas  lighted  by  means  of  a  match 
should  the  battery  fail. 


VIBRATOR  BURNER. 

This  is  an  automatic  burner  which  has  no 
valve  mechanism,  but  ignites  the  gas  only.  It 
is  generally  placed  in  a  cluster  or  ring  where 
the  burners  are  close  enough  to  light  by  con- 
tagion. It  is  much  smaller  in  diameter  than 
the  regular  automatic  burners,  being  but  one 
and  three-quarter  inches  in  diameter. 

ARGAND  AUTOMATIC  BURNERS. 

Automatic  burners  are  also  made  for 
Argand,  but  present  no  radical  difference  in 
construction  over  the  regular  type. 


24  Gas  Lighting 

THE  CONCEALED  AUTOMATIC  BURNER. 

This  automatic,  Fig.  19,  consists  of  two 
iron-clad  magnets,  placed  one  above  the  other, 
between  which  is  located  a  gas  valve.  Through 


FIG.  19. 


Multiple  Gas  Lighting  25 

an  extension  of  the  latter  a  pin  is  driven,  one 
end  acted  upon  by  the  upper  armature  to  open 
the  valve  and  ignite  the  gas,  the  other  by  the 
lower  armature  which  serves  to  close  the  valve 
and  extinguish  the  flame.  Around  the  burner 
is  placed  a  porcelain  candle  slip  of  f-inch 
diameter  and  from  4j  inches  in  length 
upwards. 


CHAPTER  III. 
CONNECTIONS  AND  WIRING. 

Fig.  20  shows  how  to  connect  up  an  auto- 
matic burner  with  two  pushes ;  thus  one  can 
be  downstairs  in  the  hall  and  the  other  up- 
stairs, allowing  one  to  either  extinguish  or 
light  the  gas  from  either  place.  The  value 
of  this  arrangement  is  obvious ;  it  allows  one 
to  light  up  the  hall  before  descending  at  night, 
or  to  put  out  the  gas  after  one  is  safely  up- 
stairs. Again,  an  automatic  burner  can  be 
put  in  the  cellar  and  lighted  and  extinguished 
from  the  head  of  the  cellar-stairs,  saving 
matches  and  danger  of  fire. 

Fig.  21  shows  the  connections  of  one  auto- 
matic burner  and  two  pendant  or  rachet 
burners.  P  P  are  the  pendent  burners,  A  the 
automatic  burner,  C  the  primary  coil,  5  the 
buttons  which  control  the  automatic  burner, 
M  M  M  the  cells  of  battery,  of  which  there 
should  be  at  least  four,  if  not  six.  A  low- 
resistance  cell  must  be  used  here,  as  before 


Connections  and  Wiring  27 

mentioned,    one   that   gives   not   less   than    5 
amperes  on  short  circuit.     It  will  be  seen  here 


that  one  side  of  the  battery  is  connected  to 
ground  (or  gas  pipe),  the  circuit  being  com- 


28 


Gas  Lighting 


pleted  owing  to  the  burners  being  themselves 
screwed    into   the   gas   pipe.      Care   must   be 


FIG.  21. 


taken,  however,  to  first  see  that  no  insulating 
bushings  have  been  used  at  the  gas  fixtures, 


Connections  and  Wiring  29 

as  is  done  in  wiring  for  electric  light.  In  this 
case  a  double  circuit  will  have  to  be  run. 

In  wiring  up  an  automatic  burner  with  two 
electro-magnets,  two  wires  are  run,  one  from 
the  black  button  and  one  from  the  white 
button  on  push-plate.  Most  burners  have 
binding  posts  inside  the  case,  the  wires  run- 
ning through  a  rubber-bushed  hole  in  the  base. 
One  of  the  greatest  defects  in  the  old  style 
automatics  arose  from  the  two  binding  posts 
being  fixed  on  a  hard  rubber  block,  which  was 
held  by  one  screw  to  the  burner  top.  This 
screw  got  loose  at  times  and  the  block  used  to 
twist,  making  it  hard  to  tighten  the  wires. 
But  improvements  have  been  made  in  this 
direction,  the  later  burners  having  a  block 
with  a  projection  which  engages  in  a  hole  in 
the  cover,  and  is  held  by  two  screws. 

If  the  push  has  been  set  in  place,  and  all 
wiring  done,  connect  up  the  burner,  first  ascer- 
taining to  which  binding  post  the  two  wires 
run.  This  is  done  by  having  one  button 
pressed,  the  lighting  (white)  one,  for  example, 
and  then  touching  the  binding  post  with  either 
wire.  The  lighting  armature  will  buzz  vio- 
lently when  touched,  whereas  the  extinguish- 
ing one  only  strikes  once  when  contact  is 


30  Gas  Lighting 

made.  When  only  one  person  is  working, 
a  pin  can  be  wedged  in  the  push  so  as  to  keep 
the  circuit  closed. 

In  setting  up  these  burners  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  bend  contacts  or  alter  adjust- 
ments, and  absolute  precaution  is  necessary 
that  no  wires  touch  where  uninsulated.  A 
cause  of  trouble  is  a  dirty  burner  which  does 
not  allow  the  gas  to  strike  the  contact  spark. 
The  collar  carrying  the  second  contact  may 
shift,  or  perhaps  become  short-circuited  in  a 
pendant  or  ratchet  burner;  a  strip  of  asbestos 
will  remedy  this. 

BURNER  DISTRIBUTION. 

In  fitting  a  house  with  electric  lighting 
burners,  the  question  of  selection  is  best  solved 
as  follows :  For  the  main  hall  and  foot  of  the 
cellar-stairs,  use  the  automatic  burner.  For 
other  hallways,  dining-room,  drawing-room, 
and  bathroom  use  ratchet  burners  which  turr 
on  and  light  gas  when  chain  is  pulled.  For 
bedrooms  use  plain  pendant  burners ;  auto- 
matics and  ratchets  add  an  element  of  danger, 
in  that  they  may  not  turn  off  gas,  or  may  leak. 
Most  of  this  type  on  the  market  are  as  reliable 


Connections  and  Wiring  31 

as  it  is  possible  to  make  them,  but  still  acci- 
dents will  happen. 

The  frontispiece  shows  a  diagram  of  the 
wiring  in  a  dwelling  house  of  medium  size, 
dividing  it  into  three  sections,  each  section  be- 
ing controlled  by  a  switch — either  a  hand 
switch  or  one  of  the  automatic  cut-out  switches 
elsewhere  described.  The  burners  are  dis- 
tributed as  follows : 

No.  i  in  the  front  cellar,  pendant  or 
ratchet. 

No.  2  in  the  rear  cellar  at  foot  of  stairway 
is  an  automatic  burner  controlled  from  kitchen 
above. 

Nos.  3  and  4  ratchet  burners  on  chandeliers 
in  drawing-room  and  dining-room. 

No.  5  ratchet  or  pendant  in  kitchen. 

No.  6  pendant  in  bedroom. 

No.  7  ratchet  or  pendant  in  bathroom. 

No.  8  pendant  in  bedroom. 

No.  9  pendant  in  bedroom. 

Nos.  10,  IT,  and  12  pendants  in  bedroom. 

No.  13  automatic  burner  in  hallway  op- 
erated from  pushes  in  lower  and  in  upper  hall- 
ways. 

The  articles  required  for  this  job  are  as 
follows : 


32  Gas  Lighting 

Two  automatic  burners. 

Three  gas  lighting  push-buttons  and  bases. 
Pendant  and  ratchet  burners  according  to 
number  of  lights  in  rooms. 

Six  cells — open  circuit  battery. 

One  three-lever  switch. 

One  8  or  10  inch  spark  coil. 

Three  pounds  No.  16  patent  finish  office 
wire. 

Two  ounces  No.  24  gas-fixture  wire. 

One  pound  tinned  .-}"  staples. 

Few  square  inches  tinfoil. 

Small  roll  insulating  tape. 

Tools :  4-inch  screwdriver,  pocket  knife, 
4^-inch  side-cutting  pliers,  hammer,  piece  of 
sandpaper. 

The  simple  section  switch  is  shown  enlarged 
in  Fig.  22.  The  wires  I,  2,  and  3  are  from 
their  respective  circuits  and  terminate  at  the 
switch  arms  A  A  A.  The  wire  from  the 
battery  B  and  coil  C  runs  to  each  switch- 
stud  ^  5"  S.  If  trouble  shows  on  the  line, 
each  circuit  can  be  thrown  off  by  moving  its 
switch  arm  until  the  fault  is  located.  If  it  is 
not  found  at  once,  and  the  battery  is  weak, 
(test  each  cell  with  an  ordinary  electric  bell), 
open  all  the  circuits  until  the  battery  is  re- 


Connections  and  Wiring 


33 


cuperated,  and  disconnect  the  battery  wire 
from  the  switch.  Then  attach  the  battery 
wire  to  the  bell  and  touch  each  switch  lever 
with  a  wire  from  the  other  binding  post  of  the 


FIG.  22. 

bell.  If  there  is  a  short  circuit  on  any  section, 
the  bell  will  ring  or  tremble  when  the  arm  is 
touched. 

On  the  contrary,  if  the  burners  fail  to  work 
and  no  sign  of  a  short  circuit  can  be  thus 


34  Gas  Lighting 

obtained,  it  is  evident  that  a  wire  is  broken  or 
a  screw  is  loose. 

To  locate  a  break,  connect  up  the  bell  as  just 
described  and  attach  the  testing  wire  to  the 
switch  with  all  levers  closed;  this  is  actually 
putting  the  bell  in  series  with  the  battery,  coil, 
and  ground.  Then  hunt  for  the  break.  Take 
a  long  piece  of  wire  and  fasten  one  end  to  a 
ground  pipe.  Then  touch  the  other  end  to 
the  circuit  wire  in  the  cellar  as  far  as  you  can 
go,  baring  the  insulation  in  spots,  but  carefully 
re-insulating  it  again.  If  there  is  no  break  in 
the  cellar,  the  bell  will  ring  loudly  at  each 
contact.  Next,  proceed  to  the  next  floor  and 
repeat  the  operation,  gradually  working  away 
from  the  battery.  As  soon  as  you  pass  the 
break,  the  bell  will  fail  to  respond.  Two  per- 
sons here  are  better  than  one,  as  it  may  be 
necessary  to  go  quite  a  distance  from  the  bell 
before  finding  the  trouble. 

Fig.  23  shows  details  of  the  wiring  from 
the  hall  light  to  the  two  push-buttons.  A  wire 
is  run  right  down  from  the  top  push  T,  middle 
connection,  past  the  lower  push  L,  where  a 
similar  branch  joins  it,  until  it  reaches  the 
section  switch.  The  lighting  and  extinguish- 
ing wires  from  the  lower  push  run  up  and  are 


o     . 

I-  p 


36  Gas  Lighting 

joined  on  to  the  similar  wires  from  the  top 
push,  which  latter  wires  go  directly  through 
the  floor  and  ceiling  to  the  automatic  .burner  A. 

Fig.  24  is  the  detail  of  the  wiring  for  the 
cellar  automatic  burner  A,  from  the  push  P, 
and  is  so  clearly  shown  as  not  to  require 
further  explanation. 

The  secret  of  success  in  gas-lighting  work 
is  careful  wiring.  The  platinum  tip  of  the 
vibrating  rod  is  often  bent,  either  by  accidental 
blow  or  by  the  continual  hammering  against 
the  tip  on  the  collar.  This  often  causes  an 
open  circuit  when  the  lighting  armature  re- 
fuses to  buzz.  Again,  soot  will  form,  causing 
weak  action  owing  to  imperfect  contact. 
Examine,  adjust,  and  clean ;  here,  as  in  all 
electrical  work,  contacts  must  be  clean. 

In  general  wiring,  use  weatherproof  office 
wire,  or,  better  still,  well-made  electric  light 
wire.  For  ordinary  house  work  No.  16  B.  &  S. 
gauge  is  preferable ;  smaller  wire  means  higher 
resistance  and  less  current  at  burner.  For 
braided  office  wire,  No.  16  runs  about  95  feet 
to  the  pound,  No.  18  about  135  feet  to  the 
pound.  The  cheaper  grades  of  wire  without 
the  patent  finish  or  extra  insulation  are  not 
worth  using;  sooner  or  later  trouble  will  en- 


Connections  and  Wiring  37 

sue,  and  once  a  house  is  wired,  it  is  no  pleasant 
job  to  hunt  trouble,  especially  if  the  wire  was 
put  on  before  the  plaster.  In  modern  build- 
ings in  large  cities,  the  use  of  conduit  tubes 
has  become  general,  but  the  handling  of  these 
conduits  comes  more  under  the  province  of 
the  electric-light  wireman  and  less  within  the 
scope  of  these  pages. 

In  wiring  new  wooden  buildings  do  not 
draw  wires  too  tight;  the  wood  may  expand 
and  either  break  wire  or  cause  a  weakening  of 
the  insulation.  In  wiring  before  the  plaster 
is  put  on,  always  leave  a  good  length  free,  so 
it  will  not  be  covered  up  by  the  plasterers. 

The  wire  used  on  the  gas  fixture  is  of  a 
special  kind,  being  made  for  the  purpose.  It 
is  made  in  two  sizes,  No.  22  and  No.  24 
B.  &  S.  gauge,  and  with  three  ^windings  of 
cotton,  three  outer  layers  of  cotton  and  one 
of  silk,  or.  three  windings  of  cotton  which  is 
soaked  in  fireproof  preparation,  and  then 
wound  with  silk. 

As  the  piece  used  is  generally  short,  these 
small  sizes  are  sufficient  in  carrying  capacity. 
After  wiring  up  a  fixture,  this  fine  wire  can  be 
tied  on  to  the  pipes,  etc.,  with  thread,  and  a 
good  coating  or  two  of  shellac  varnish  applied. 


38  Gas  Lighting 

When  this  is  dry,  the  thread  can  be  removed 
and  the  shellac  will  hold  the  wires  on  to  the 
fixture.  On  no  account  finally  connect  up  the 
battery  to  a  circuit  when  shellacking  the  wire. 
Wait  until  the  shellac  is  thoroughly  dry  and 
hard — at  least  half  a  day,  if  possible. 

White  lead  is  generally  used  at  the  joints 
where  the  burner  screws  into  the  fixture,  but 
tinfoil  wrapped  round  the  joint  will  give  good 
service.  It  prevents  leaks  and  ensures  a  good 
contact. 

The  ground  connection  at  the  battery  must 
be  first-class;  do  not  be  content  with  Just 
wrapping  a  -few  turns  of  wire  around  the  pipe 
in  the  cellar  (assuming  the  battery  is  in  the 
cellar),  but  clean  and  scrape  the  pipe;  clean  at 
least  two  feet  of  the  wire,  wind  it  tightly  and 
evenly  on  the  pipe  and  solder  it.  There  is  a 
pipe-clamp  made  which  is  clamped  on  the  pipe 
and  the  wire  attached  to  that,  but.it  must  be 
properly  put  on  a  clean  surface. 

WIRING  FINISHED  HOUSES. 

In  wiring  finished  houses,  especially  wooden 
ones,  the  wires  can  be  run  along  skirting 
boards,  and  often  pushed  out  of  sight  in  the 


Connections  and  Wiring  39 

space  between  the  floor  and  the  skirting.  This 
is  quite  permissible,  as  the  wires,  unlike  electric- 
light  wires,  carry  no  dangerous  current;  but 
waterproof  wire  becomes  preferable,  as  the 
water  used  in  washing  a  floor  will  often  creep 
under  and  rot  the  insulation.  In  going  up- 
stairs, wires  can  often  be  run  in  the  fluting  of 
a  moulding  along  the  stairway,  and  be  quite 
inconspicuous ;  but  wherever  possible,  fish  the 
wires  up  inside  the  wall.  The  main  thing 
to  be  considered  in  wiring  is  that  the  wires  are 
large  enough,  well  insulated, 'all  joints  well 
made  and  taped  and  put  where  there  is  no 
danger  of  injury.  Rats  have  a  habit  of 
gnawing  paraffin-coated  insulation,  and  it  is 
well  to  run  such  in  metal  tubes.  In  joining 
or  splicing  wires,  do  it  in  a  thorough  manner, 
and  solder  if  possible.  Never  use  the  old  bell- 
hanger  joint — the  one  in  which  the  ends  of 
the  wires  are  merely  looped  together.  Strip 
insulation  and  scrape  or  sand-paper  bright 
about  three  inches  of  each  wire  to  be  spliced. 
Then,  placing  the  bare  wires  across  each  other 
about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  from  the  in- 
sulation, tightly  wind  the  loose  bare  ends  of 
each  around  the  bare  inside  portion  of  the 
one  it  is  being  spliced  to.  A  touch  of  solder 
will  prevent  trouble  from  oxidation,  after  the 


4O  Gas  Lighting 

adhesive  tape  has  been  wrapped  on.  Atten- 
tion to  details  like  these  will  often  ensure  the 
satisfactory  working  of  the  job. 

A  handy  tool  for  gas-lighting  wiring  is 
shown  in  Fig.  25.  One  end  is  bored  out  to 
fit  the  small  nuts  on  the  ratchet  and  pendant 
burners,  and  the  other  is  filed  flat  for  use  as 
a  screw-driver. 


FIG.  25. 

A  case  may  arise  where  there  is  electric 
light  on  the  same  chandelier  as  the  gas  lights, 
and  that  an  insulating  bushing  has  been 
screwed  in  between  the  fixture  and  the  pipe. 
In  this  case  it  will  be  necessary  to  run  two 
wires  to  each  burner,  the  pipe  common  return 
being  now  unavailable.  Another  scheme  is  to 
interpose  an  insulating  bushing  under  each 
burner;  then  the  second  or  return  wire  need 
only  be  run  from  the  burner  to  the  gas  pipe 
outside  the  main  bushing.  But  the  local  fire- 
insurance  rules  must  first  be  consulted. 

Most  ceiling  gas  fixtures  will  admit  of  the 
fixture  wire  being  run  inside  the  brass  shell, 


Connections  and  Wiring  41 

which  makes  a  neater  job.  But  the  very  best 
of  insulation  must  be  used,  and  great  care  be 
taken  that  it  be  not  abraded.  It  should  be 
shellacked  or  otherwise  insulated  before  use. 
The  electric-light  fixture  wires  are  admirable 
for  use  here  if  there  is  room. 

For  concealed  work  in  a  finished  house, 
locate  the  position  of  the  fixture  under  the 
floor  of  the  room  above  by  measuring 
both  in  the  room  where  the  fixture  is 
and  in  the  room  above.  Then  cut  out  a  piece 
of  the  floor,  drill  up  from  underneath  through 
the  fixture  plaster-rose  with  a  fine  drill,  and 
push  the  fixture  wire  up.  The  main  wire  can 
be  laid  under  the  carpet,  or  along  the  floor- 
crack  in  the  upstairs  room. 

In  wiring  up  wall-fixtures,  push-buttons, 
etc.,  it  is  often  possible  to  fish  the  wire  up 
from  the  flcor  by  punching  a  hole  at  the  fixture 
and  inserting  a  piece  of  chain  (made  for  the 
purpose),  attached  to  a  long  and  stout  thread. 
Then  drill  into  the  skirting  near  the  floor 
plumb  underneath  the  first  hole  and  fish  for 
the  chain  with  a  piece  of  wire  having  a  hook 
on  the  end  of  it.  Where  fixtures  have  brass 
rosettes,  these  can  be  removed  by  (generally) 
unscrewing  the  fixture,  but  first  shut  off  the 


42  Gas  Lighting 

gas  at  the  meter,  or  plug  the  hole ;  this  may 
seem  unnecessary  advice,  but  experience  war- 
rants its  being  given.  When  the  chain  is 
fished  out,  a  piece  of  wire  can  be  attached  to 
the  thread  and  pulled  through  in  turn.  In 
most  cases  its  point  of  exit  at  the  fixture  can 
be  concealed  by  the  rosette,  through  a  hole  in 
which  it  passes.  Take  care  that  the  edges  of 
this  hole  do  not  cut  the  insulation.  Care  must 
be  taken  at  every  step  in  gas-lighting  wiring. 
In  wiring  up  a  push-button,  screw  all  wires 
tightly  under  their  respective  binding  screws, 
and  then  cover  wherever  possible  with  adhe- 
sive tape.  As  the  wires  must  be  somewhat 
loose  to  allow  of  the  connections  being  made 
at  the  back  of  the  push-button  at  the  wall,  they 
will  have  to  be  carefully  pushed  into  the  hole, 
and  if  they  are  not  tightly  held  by  screws, 
trouble  will  result.  It  is  a  good  plan,  when 
using  fine  enough  wire,  to  make  a  sort  of  eye 
at  the  end  of  the  wire  and  pass  the  screw 
through  this,  instead  of  merely  giving  the 
wire  end  a  turn  around  the  screw  and  then 
driving  the  screw  home.  Of  course  washers 
should  be  used  wherever  an  ordinary  screw 
holds  a  bare  wire. 


Connections  and  Wiring  43 

AUTOMATIC  BURNER  OPERATED  BY  DOOR. 

One  of  the  uses  to  which  an  automatic 
burner  can  be  put  is  in  conjunction  with  an 
electric  door-spring,  lighting  when  the  door  is 
opened,  but  preferably  extinguished  by  inde- 
pendent push.  In  this  ^  case,  a  form  of  trip 
spring  should  be  used  which  would  only  make 
contact  during  a  portion  of  the  travel  of  door. 
Such  a  trip  is  shown  in  Fig  26. 

A  is  automatic  burner ;  C,  the  primary  coil ; 
B,  the  battery;  T,  a  swinging  trip  piece  of 
brass  hinged  in  brass  plate,  P,  which  is  screwed 
over  the  door  in  such  manner  that  the  door 
opening  in  direction  of  the  arrow  will  cause 
the  trip  T  to  strike  against  the  spring  S,  and 
make  contact.  This  spring  is  insulated  from 
the  plate  P  by  the  hard  rubber  block  R. 

On  the  door  being  opened,  the  trip  will  make 
contact  long  enough  to  light  the  burner  and 
will  then  fall  back  as  the  door  passes.  On 
shutting  the  door,  the  trip  will  be  raised  and 
will  fall  as  the  door  passes,  but  will  not  make 
contact.  Or,  if  so  desired,  it  can  be  made  to 
operate  a  second  contact  to  extinguish  the 
burner  by  fixing  a  second  insulated  spring  so 
it-  will  be  pressed  when  the  top  of  trip  makes  a 


Connections  and  Wiring  45 

downward  movement — as  when  the  door 
passes  it  in  shutting. 

Various  applications  of  automatic  burners 
in  connection  with  burglar  alarms  will  suggest 
themselves,  but  in  these  cases  the  utmost  care 
must  be  taken  that  the  apparatus  is  in  good 
working  order ;  failure  to  light  might  cause  the 
room  to  be  rilled  with  gas,  and  serious  results 
ensue. 

For  those  persons  who  use  gas  stoves  and 
are  mechanically  inclined,  an  arrangement  of 
an  alarm  clock  with  an  automatic  burner  will 
enable  them  to  light  up  without  getting  out 
of  bed,  or  perhaps  even  waking  up. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PRIMARY  COILS  AND  SAFETY  DEVICES. 

To  construct  a  primary  coil  such  as  used 
with  pendant  or  automatic  burners  presents  no 
difficulty.  The  most  convenient  sizes  are  those 
8  to  10  inches  in  length  and  about  3  inches  in 
diameter.  It  is  quite  common  to  speak  of  these 
coils  as  8  or  10  inch  coils;  to  the  writer's 
knowledge  this  has  been  taken  to  mean  a 
Ruhmkorff  or  double-wound  induction  coil, 
giving  a  free  8  or  10  inch  spark. 


FIG.  27. 

To  make  such  a  coil  (Fig.  27),  proceed  as 
follows:  Prepare  a  spool  by  gluing  a  paper 
or  fibre  tube  J  inch  in  outside  diameter  by 
about  1-16  inch  thick  into  square  or  round 


Primary  Coils  and  Safety  Devices     47 

spool  ends  three  inches  square,  one-half  inch 
thick,  and  having  each  a  centre  hole  just  large 
enough  to  admit  of  the  tube  being  held  tightly. 
These  ends  should  be  firmly  fixed  on  the  tube ; 
a  pin  or  two  driven  through  tube  into  end 
will  assist  in  strengthening  the  joint.  Now 
wind  on  the  tube  about  3  pounds  No.  12 
B.  &  S.  cotton-covered  magnet  wire.  This 
will  give  about  six  layers  of  80  turns  each, 
nearly  500  turns  in  all,  a  total  length  of,  say, 
150  feet,  measuring  .25  ohm.  The  ends  of  the 
wire  are  to  be  brought  out  through  holes 
drilled  in  the  spool  ends,  and  can  be  fixed  to 
brass  binding  posts  on  those  ends. 

Into  the  paper  tube  push  as  many  iron  wires 
8  inches  long  by  No.  22  B.  W.  gauge  as  will 
fill  it.  These  iron  wires  can  be  tightened 
finally  by  driving  in  at  each  end,  a  stout  wire 
nail. 

Although  not  absolutely  necessary,  a  coat 
or  two  of  shellac  varnish  applied  to  the  wind- 
ings will  make  a  better  insulation.  Shellac 
varnish  is  readily  marie  by  dissolving  one  part 
gum  shellac  in  four  parts  of  alcohol.  For 
coils  which  are  likely  to  be  in  damp  places, 
a  good  saturation  with  insulating  compound, 
such  as  P.  &  B.  paint,  will  render  them  water- 


48  Gas  Lighting 

proof.  The  need  for  good  insulation  in  these 
primary  coils  is  not  so  urgent  as  in  Ruhmkorff 
coils,  owing  to  the  lower  potential  of  the  cur- 
rent. 

A  smaller  coil  can  be  made  with  No.  14 
B.  &  S.  wire  where  the  battery  is  of  higher 
resistance  (or  gives  less  than  ten  amperes  on 
short  circuit).  The  remarks  on  battery  se- 
lection on  another  page  will  be  found  to  meet 
application  here. 

AUTOMATIC  CUT-OUTS. 

Where  there  are  a  number  of  burners  to  be 
installed  in  different  parts  of  a  house,  it  be- 
comes desirable  to  wire  in  a  number  of  cir- 
cuits. As  one  end  of  the  circuit  is  already 
grounded,  a  second  ground  will  cause  material 
injury  to  the  battery  if  not  detected  in  time. 
It  becomes,  therefore,  necessary  to  be  able  to 
open  a  grounded  circuit  without  affecting  all 
the  lights  in  a  house.  This  is  possible  with 
the  multiple  circuit  arrangement  by  using  a 
switch,  either  automatic  or  operated  by  hand. 

The  simplest  form  of  danger  signal  is  the 
relay  electric  bell  attachment,  which  device  is 
mounted  on  the  end  of  the  gas-lighting  coil. 


Primary  Coils  and  Safety  Devices     49 

It  consists  of  an  armature  which  closes  a  cir- 
cuit when  attracted  by  the  coil  core,  in  which 
circuit  are  included  a  battery  and  electric  bell. 
Now  when  an  ordinary  pendant  or  ratchet 
burner  is  pulled,  it  only  sends  a  momentary 
current  through  the  coil,  enough  to  magnetize 
the  core,  but  not  enough  to  attract  the  armature 
sufficiently  long  for  the  bell  to  ring.  But  if 
a  short  circuit  or  ground  should  occur,  the 
armature  is  held  against  the  contact  long 
enough  to  cause  the  bell  to  ring  and  give 
warning.  In  some  cases  a  constant  ringing 
attachment  is  added,  in  which  case  the  bell 
rings  until  some  one  stops  it. 

THE  SYRACUSE  CUT-OUT. 

This  is  a  most  ingenious  device  for  opening 
a  short  circuit,  depending  on  its  action  upon 
the  sluggish  movement  of  glycerine  (Fig.  28). 

A  sealed  glass  tube  pivoted  near  its  centre- 
contains  a  portion  of  glycerine  sufficient  to 
considerably  overbalance  it  and  keep  one  end 
down.  A  soft  iron  armature  is  attached  to 
this  tube  in  such  manner  that  each  time  a 
current  flows  through  a  pair  of  electro- 
magnets, the  attraction  of  the  armature  caus 


50  Gas  Lighting 

the  tube  to  tilt  and  the  glycerine  flows  along 
to  the  other  end.  Now  it  will  be  readily  seen 
that  if  the  tube  is  only  tilted  for  a  second  or 
so,  the  slow-moving  glycerine  will  not  have 
flowed  sufficiently  to  the  end  to  overbalance  it, 
but  it  requires  an  attraction  of  the  armature 
for  a  considerable  period.  This  electro- 


FIG.  28. 


magnet  is  in  circuit  with  the  gas-lighting 
wires,'  the  tube  being  provided  with  contacts 
in  such  manner  that,  when  fully  tilted,  the 
circuit  is  broken.  The  momentary  jerks  im- 
parted to  the  "armature  by  the  operation  of  a 
pendant  or  automatic  burner  will  not  be 
enough  to  permanently  tilt  the  tube  and  break 


Primary  Coils  and  Safety  Devices      51 

contact,  but  a  short  circuit  will  hold  the  arma- 
ture tight  down,  until  the  increasing  weight 


of  glycerine  causes  the  tube  to  open  the  cir- 
cuit. 


52  Gas  Lighting 

AUTOMATIC  SECTIONAL  CUT-OUT. 

This  cut-out,  Fig.  29,  is  representative  of 
the  class  which  use  clockwork,  and  is  both 
simple  and  reliable.  The  house  circuit  is  in 
series  with  an  electro-magnet  which  controls 
a  clockwork  having  a  long  pinion  shaft.  This 
clockwork  starts  and  runs  while  the  house 
circuit  is  closed,  as  on  operating  a  burner, 
but  stops  when  the  circuit  is  opened  and  flow 
of  current  ceases.  The  wires  leading  to  dif- 


FIG.  30. 

ferent  circuits  in  the  building  run  through  a 
number  of  contact  springs  mounted  on  sliding 
rods,  which  have  teeth  cut  on  the  under  side 
(Fig  30).  These  rods  have  soft  iron  arma- 
tures on  the  opposite  ends  from  the  contact 
springs,  which  rest  over  electro-magnets,  also 
connected  to  the  house  circuits.  When  the 
clockwork  starts,  the  pinion  shaft  revolves,  but 
does  not  engage  in  any  of  the  sliding  rods,  as 


Primary  Coils  and  Safety  Devices     53 

they  just  clear  it.  Should  a  heavy  or  con- 
tinuous current  pass  through  one  of  the 
electro-magnets,  it  attracts  the  armature  on 
the  corresponding  rod  (Fig.  31),  and  the 
turning  pinion  engages  in  the  teeth, ,  drawing 
up  the  rod  and  breaking  contact. 

Fig.    32    is    a    form    of    battery,  protector 
which  works  on  the  gravity  principle.     Here 


FIG.  31. 

each  section  is  governed  by  a  rocking  contact, 
operated  by  two  glass  bulbs  partially  filled 
with  a  volatile  fluid  (such  as  ether),  and 
joined  by  a  glass  tube.  In  one  of  these  bulbs 
is  a  platinum  wire  which  is  included  in  the 
circuit  and  heats  upon  the  passage  of  a  strong 
or  continuous  current.  If  the  circuit  is  closed 
too  long,  the  heating  of  the  platinum  wire 
causes  the  fluid  to  flow  into  the  upper  bulb, 
and,  as  the  bulbs  are  pivoted,  the  increased 
weight  of  the  upper  bulb  now  overbalances  the 
rocker  and  breaks  the  circuit  on  that  section. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LIGHTING  OF  LARGE  BUILDINGS. 

The  jump  spark  system  is  used  where  it  is 
desired  to  light  clusters  of  gas  jets  situated 
in  inaccessible  places,  or  a  number  of  them 
simultaneously.  The  spark  from  a  Ruhm- 
korff  coil,  being  made  by  a  contact  broken  at 
the  coil  and  not  at  the  burner,  can  be  divided 
up  among  a  number  of  simple  burners  placed 
in  series.  One  of  the  burners  used  and  known 
as  the  Smith  jump  spark  burner  is  shown  in 
Fig-  33-  The  wires  from  the  coil  are  attached 
to  the  electrodes  shown  on  each  side  of  the 
burner,  and  the  spark  jumps  across  the  gap, 
situated  nearly  over  the  burner  orifice.  There 
is  a  guard-flange  of  mica  round  the  lower 
part. 

Fig.  34  shows  the  manner  in  which  the 
jump  spark  is  applied  to  a  Welsbach  burner. 
A  small  porcelain  clip  carrying  the  spark-gap 
wires  is  held  on  the  top  of  the  burner  chimney. 
The  electrodes  project  down  into  the  chimney 


56  Gas  Lighting 

so   that   a   draught   of   air   cannot   carry   the 
stream  of  gas  away  from  the  spark-gap. 

35   shows  a  burner  intended  for  the 


FIG.  33. 


FIG.  35. 


FIG.  34. 


stage  of  a  theatre,  or  where  the  lights  are 
located  in  dangerous  and  inaccessible  places. 
The  burner  is  made  of  porcelain  upon  which 
are  spun  the  metal  top  and  bottom.  One 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  57 

electrode  is  also  clamped  around  it,  allowing 
of  adjustment  and  better  insulation. 

These  burners  are  used  in  series,  as  shown 
in  Fig  36.     B  B  B  are  the  burners ;  S  S,  the 


FIG.  36. 


secondary  wires  from  the  Ruhmkorff  coil,  7; 
P  P,  the  primary  coil  wires  from  battery, 
opened  and  closed  by  means  of  the  key,  K. 

It  is  often  possible  to  place  plain  burners 
close  enough  so  that  they  can  ignite  by  con- 
tagion. In  this  case  one  of  the  plain  burners 


58  Gas  Lighting 

is  removed  and  replaced  by  a  multiple  burner, 
as  above. 

It  is  customary  to  allow  sixteen  burners 
to  one  inch  of  spark,  in  which  case  the  spark 
gaps  are  adjusted  about  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch  apart.  A  coil  giving  a  2-inch  spark 
would  operate  32  burners,  but  actually  it 
would  be  found  preferable  to  omit  a  few,  so  as 
to  make  allowance  for  any  slight  leak.  A 
spark  of  over  2  inches  is  hard  to  handle,  al- 
though often  used ;  it  is  better  to  make  up  a 
number  of  circuits  of,  say,  30  burners  each, 
and  operate  them  alternately  by  a  suitable 
switch. 

The  wire  used  to  connect  the  burners  is 
generally  bare,  although  an  insulated  wire  is 
sometimes  used.  But  the  electromotive  force 
of  a  2-inch  spark  is  so  high  that  it  is  better 
to  run  the  wires  so  they  do  not  come  near 
anything  liable  to  cause  a  leak.  The  remark- 
able tendency  of  these  high-tension  currents 
must  be  most  carefully  guarded  against ; 
indeed,  it  is  what  makes  this  style  of  gas 
lighting  so  often  unsuccessful.  A  damp  wall, 
gilt  wall-paper,  a  gas  pipe  hidden  in  the  plaster, 
will  often  lead  off  the  current.  The  wires 
should  be  at  least  50  per  cent,  further  off 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  59 

from  any  object  than  the  spark  length;  that  is, 
a  2-inch  spark  circuit  should  be  at  least  3 
inches  away  from  a  wall,  and  the  further  the 
better.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged  that 
every  precaution  be  taken  to  keep  the  wires 
away  from  objects  other  than  their  insulators. 


FIG.  37. 


Fig.  37  shows  the  special  form  of  insulator 
used.  It  is  made  of  the  highest  grade  glaze 
filled  porcelain,  and  the  screw  is  passed  into 
it  and  holds  against  the  lower  end  as  far  away 
from  the  wire  as  possible. 

Glass  tubes  should  be  passed  over  the  wires 


60  Gas  Lighting 

wherever  they  come  near  any  metallic  object, 
that  is,  within  sparking  distance. 

EDWARDS'  CONDENSER  SYSTEM. 

This  system  differs  from  the  foregoing  in 
that  the  spark-gaps  are  connected  in  multiple, 
instead  of  series,  and  each  burner  is  provided 
with  a  small  but  efficient  condenser. 

It  prevents  trouble  should  a  wife  break 
between  burners,  in  which  event  only  one 


FIG. 


burner  would  be  out  of  commission,  whereas 
in  the  first  method,  the  whole  number  in  that 
series  would  suffer.  It  is  also  more  sure  in 
action  and  presents  less  liability  of  the  spark 
jumping  to  the  ground.  The  burner  pillars 
need  not  be  made  of  porcelain  or  lava ;  in  fact, 
the  electrodes  can  be  readily  attached  to  the 
existing  burner.  Fig.  38  is  a  condenser  con- 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  61 


sisting  of  a  small  oval  piece  of  mica,  on  each 
side  of  which  is  fastened,  with  insulating 
varnish,  a  spatula-shaped  piece  of  tinfoil. 
One  foil  sheet  is  attached  to  the  line,  the  other 
to  the  burner  electrode.  These  condensers 
must  not  be  allowed  to  get  wet  or  their  ef- 
ficiency will  be  impaired. 

Figs.  39  and  40  are  the  most  generally  used 


FIG.  39. 


FIG.  40. 

burners,  the  wire  from  the  condenser  being 
attached  to  the  lug  or  top  electrode,  which  is 
insulated  from  the  burner  by  means  of  the 
mica  plate  to  which  it  is  riveted.  The  burner 
pillars  are  of  course  grounded  through  their 


62 


Gas  Lighting 


being  screwed  into  the  gas  pipe.     The  circuit 
is  shown  in  Fig.  41.      /is  the  induction  or 


Ruhmkorff  coil,  in  the  primary  circuit  of  which 
is  the  key,  K,  controlling  the  current  from  the 
battery,  B,  and  across  which  is  bridged  the 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  63 

condenser,  C  C.  When  the  coil  vibrator  is 
used,  the  condenser  C  C  can  be  omitted,  that 
of  the  coil  itself  serving  instead.  S  is  the  wire 
leading  from  the  secondary  terminal  of  the 
coil  to  the  burner  condenser,  C,  which,  in  turn, 
are  connected  to  the  electrodes  on  the  burners, 
P  P,  as  before  noted.  The  other  secondary 
wire  is  grounded  preferably  to  the  gas  pipe 
itself. 

Where  a  lot  of  burners  are  placed  together, 
as  in  a  ring,  it  is  often  feasible  to  light  them 
by  contagion,  one  tip  only  being  connected  to 
the  coil  circuit,  the  others  lighting  from  it  and 
conveying  the  flame  around  to  the  rest.  This 
avoids  multiplicity  of  circuits,  or,  perhaps,  too 
many  burner  gaps  on  one  circuit ;  but  the 
one  burner  may  fail  to  light,  whereas,  where 
all  are  fitted,  the  chances  of  failure  are  less, 
especially  in  the  Edwards  condenser  system. 

SWITCH  FOR  JUMP  SPARK-LIGHTING. 

In  a  switch  for  controlling  the  current  of 
the  secondary  coil  it  will  be  evident  that  the 
utmost  attention  must  be  paid  to  matters  of 
insulation.  The  object  of  such  a  switch  is  to 
control  a  number  of  circuits;  for  example, 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  65 

as  it  is  not  advisable  to  put  more  than  20  to  25 
burners  on  one  circuit,  a  case  requiring  the 
lighting  of  100  burners  would  necessitate  some 
means  of  passing  the  current  to  each  circuit  in 
turn.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  42,  in  which  5 
is  a  hard  rubber  plate,  provided  with  a  re- 
volving metal  arm  and  handle,  H,  and  foar 
contact  points,  P,  which  latter  receive  the  ends 
of  the  wires  from  the  groups  of  burner  con- 
densers B  by  means  of  nuts  or  binding  posts. 
The  wire  from  the  secondary  of  the  coil  is 
run  to  the  switch-handle,  H,  great  care  being 
taken  that  it  does  not  pass  near  to  the  circuit 
wires,  or  contact  points.  Revolving  the 
switch-handle  connects  the  secondary  wire  to 
each  circuit  in  turn.  It  will  be  noticed  that, 
unlike  a  battery  switch,  this  one  has  a  large 
base,  long  switch-arm,  contact  points  situated 
far  apart,  and  every  precaution  taken  to  con- 
trol the  passage  of  the  high-tension  current. 
The  base  should  always  be  of  rubber  or 
glass.  Shellacked-wood,  or  such  substitutes, 
are  productive  of  trouble. 

When  it  is  desired  to  light  automatically 
a  number  of  burners  from  a  distance,  the 
Trailer  (Fig.  43),  is  used.  This  is  a  switch 
similar  to  above,  but  the  arm  is  revolved 


66  Gas  Lighting 

by  means  of  toothed  wheels  by  the  electro- 
magnet shown  on  the  back.  As  it  is 
never  desirable  to  unnecessarily  prolong  the 


FIG.  43. 

'secondary  wires,  this  device  admits  of  the 
switch  being  put  near  the  circuits,  and  yet 
being  operated  from  afar. 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  67 


RUHMKORFF    COIL. 

Fig.  44  shows  a  diagram  of  a  Ruhmkorff 
coil,  the  letters  referring  as  follows : 

C  the  iron  core,  P  the  primary  coil  wires, 
/  the  insulating  tube  between  primary  P  and 
the  secondary  coil  S.  In  small  coils  this  may 
be  dispensed  with,  and  a  heavy  layer  of  paraf- 
fin wax  laid  over  the  primary  coil.  D  D  are 
the  ends  of  the  secondary,  showing  sparking 
taking  place  between  a  pair  of  balls  (or  be- 
tween the  electrodes  of  a  gas  burner)  ;  R  is 
a  stiff  spring  fastened  to  the  coil  base  and 
carrying  a  soft  iron  hammer,  which  is  at- 
tracted toward  the  iron  core,  C,  when  current 
passes  through  the  primary  coil  and  magne- 
tizes it.  L  is  a  battery,  /,  a  condenser,  to  be 
more  fully  described  later  on.  When  the 
spring  R  touches  the  adjustment  screw  A  at  B, 
as  they  are  insulated  from  each  other,  contact 
is  made  and  reference  to  circuit  will  show  that 
the  current  from  battery  L  flows  through 
primary  coil,  magnetizing  the  core  and  at- 
tracting soft  iron  hammer  on  R.  As  this 
bends  forward,  it  breaks  contact  at  5,  the 
core  loses  its  magnetism  and  the  spring  flies 


68 


Gas  Lighting 


back,  to  again  make  contact.     This  is  repeated 
many  times  per  second. 


As  a.  heavy  spark  occurs  at  B  on  the  break 
of   contact,   the   condenser,   /,   is   attached   at 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  69 

M  K.  This  is  a  series  of  insulated  tinfoil 
sheets,  which  has  the  property  of  nullifying 
the  spark  at  B,  and  so  preventing  the  waste 
of  platinum  with  which  both  adjustment 
screw  A  and  spring  R  are  equipped. 

A  Ruhmkorff  coil  differs  from  a  simple 
primary  coil  in  three  main  points.  Two  sepa- 
rate coils  instead  of  one ;  high  insulation,  and 
a  primary  coil  of  few  turns.  In  the  simple 
coil  we  desired  self-induction;  here,  we  desire 
to  avoid  it  as  much  as  possible. 

The  average  size  Ruhmkorff  coil,  for  jump 
spark  work,  would  be  one  giving  a  2-inch 
spark,  specifications  for  which  are  as  follows : 

Spool — Nine  inches  long  by  one  inch  in 
diameter.  End  cheeks  4  inches  high  by  3 
inches  wide. 

Core — Sufficient  soft  iron  wires,  9  inches 
long  by  No.  22  B.  W.  gauge  as  will  fill  the 
spool  tube. 

Primary — Two  layers  No.  14  B.  &  S. 
gauge  cotton-covered  copper  wire. 

Secondary — Two  and  one-half  pounds  No. 
36  B.  &  S.  gauge  double  cotton  or  silk-covered 
magnet  wire  wound  in  four  sections  (or  more 
than  four  sections,  if  feasible). 

Condenser — Seventy  sheets  tinfoil  4  by  7| 


70  Gas  Lighting 

inches;    80    sheets    condenser   paper    5    by   8 
inches. 

SPOOL. 

This  should  be  made  up  of  a  fibre  tube  9 
inches  in  length  by  about  i-i6-inch  thick,  and 
should-  be  firmly  fixed  into  the  spool  ends. 
If  it  be  glued  in  it  should  also  be  pinned  as 
well ;  it  is  easily  possible  to  drive  in  a  few 
screws  passing  through  the  tube  into  the  spool 
ends,  particularly  as  the  soft  iron  core,  being 
of  loose  wires,  will  adapt  ifself  to  the  slightly 
projecting  screw-heads.  Remember  that  this 
spool  must  be  made  strong;  if  it  comes  apart 
during  the  winding  process,  much  trouble  will 
ensue,  and  perhaps  all  the  wires  lost  or  ruined. 
For  reasons  to  be  seen  later,  do  not  affix  the 
right-hand  spool  end  yet,  but  have  it  ready. 
The  core  consists  of  as  many  fine  iron  wires, 
say  of  No.  22  B.  W.  gauge,  as  can  be  forced 
into  the  tube,  but  the  core  can  better  be  added 
after  the  windings  are  all  in ;  that  is,  in  such 
cases  where  a  rigid  spool  tube  is  used. 

PRIMARY  WINDING. 
This  consists  of  two  layers  of  No.  14  B.  &  S. 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  J\ 

gauge  cotton  (or  silk)  covered  copper  magnet 
wire,  and  should  be  evenly  and  tightly  laid 
on.  For  winding  coils,  a  lathe  is  a  most 
handy  machine,  or  the  spool  can  be  mounted 
on  a  spindle  and  rotated  by  hand.  It  is  not 
feasible  here  to  give  all  details  of  coil-con- 
struction; reference  should  be  made  to  the 
many  excellent  works  on  the  subject.  The 
two  ends  are  brought  out  through  holes  in  the 
spool  ends,  as  indicated  for  the  simple  primary 
coil  before  described.  After  winding,  the 
wire  is  to  be  well  basted  with  melted  paraffin 
wax  until  it  is  saturated,  any  excess  being 
scraped  off  so  as  to  leave  a  smooth  cylindrical 
surface  for  the  secondary  coil.  .  Half  a  dozen 
turns  of  stout  paper  or  oiled  silk  is  now  to  be 
wound  on,  and  enough  paraffin  wax  added  to 
leave  an  insulation  at  least  one-quarter  of  an 
inch  around  the  outside  of  the  winding. 
The  right-hand  end  of  spool,  where  the  end 
was  not  attached,  will  require  a  little  care 
that  the  wire  does  not  run  off;  but,  as  only 
two  layers  are  to  be  wound,  it  is  an  easy  thing 
to  do. 

When  the  primary  coil  is  finished  off,  cut 
three  pieces  of  hard  rubber  four  inches  square, 
with  a  central  hole  just  big  enough  that  they 


72  Gas  Lighting 

may  be  slipped  on  over  the  primary  coil  to 
form  divisions  into  which  the  secondary  wire 
goes.  These  can  be  fixed  equal  distances 
apart  by  means  of  removable  wooden  blocks, 
which  are  taken  off  as  each  section  is  wound. 

SECONDARY  COIL. 

The  secondary  coil  consists  of  about  2\ 
pounds  No.  36  B.  &  S.  gauge  silk  or  cotton- 
covered  magnet  wire,  wound  evenly  in  layers 
in  the  sections  on  the  primary  coil.  Before 
any  wire  goes  into  a  section,  it  must  be  seen 
that  the  division  fits  tight  to  the  primary  coil. 
It  will  be  best  to  pour  around  the  coil  some 
melted  paraffin  wax  so  as  to  form  an  insu- 
lating ring,  and  prevent  any  possibility  of  the 
spark  creeping  under  the  section  division  into 
the  next.  The  actual  operation  of  winding 
presents  no  difficulty  other  than  those  of 
keeping  the  wire  from  damage  and  getting  as 
even  layers  as  possible.  If  each  layer  is  sepa- 
rated from  its  neighbor  by  a  strip  of  paraffined 
paper,  it  makes  even  winding  easier,  and  bet- 
ter insulation.  As  to  the  insulating  of  the 
secondary  coil,  it  can  be  done  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  The  coil  can  be  soaked  in  molten 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  ?$ 

paraffin  until  saturated,  or  the  wire  can  be 
made  to  pass  through  a  dish  of  molten 
paraffin  while  on  its  way  from  the  wire  reel  to 
the  coil.  In  the  latter  case  the  wire  must  be 
guided  by  means  of  glass  rollers,  as  the  wax 
would  harden  rapidly  if  touched  by  the  fingers. 
In  connecting  up  the  sections,  .the  similar  ends 
are  to  be  joined ;  that  is,  the  inside  ends  to 


FIG.  45. 

inside  ends,  and  outside  ends  to  outside 
ends,  as  per  diagram  (Fig.  45).  This  will 
bring  two  outside  ends  free  for  attachment 
to  binding  posts.  Fig.  46  shows  direction  of 
winding  and  connecting  the  two  middle  coils, 
A  C  being  the  inside  layers  next  to  primary 
and  B  D  the  outside  layers. 

An   outside   coat   of   paraffin    wax    is    now 
given  to  the  coil  and  a  wrapping  of  waxed 


74 


Gas  Lighting 


paper  laid  on.  Then,  if  desired,  a  cover  of 
sheet-rubber  or  a  layer  of  cloth  can  be  put  on 
over  all,  to  finish  the  job. 

BASE,  KEY,  AND  CONDENSER. 

The  base  for  a  Ruhmkorff  coil  generally  re- 
ft 
3 


FIG.  46. 

sembles  an  oblong  shallow  box.  The  coil  is 
mounted  on  the  lid,  and  the  condenser  inside 
the  box,  the  connections  being  made  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  lid.  It  is  preferable,  except 
for  appearance'  sake,  to  make  all  connections 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  75 

outside  the  box,  but  this  is  left  to  the  worker's 
choice. 

The  Condenser  is  made  up  of  70  sheets  of 
tinfoil  each  about  4  inches  by  7^,  and  80  sheets 
of  clean  white  paper  5  by  8  inches  placed  al- 
ternately, and  saturated  with  paraffin  wax. 


FIG.  47. 

The  tinfoil  sheets  are  laid  so  that  about  \  inch 
projects  out  of  the  paper  sheets  at  each  end, 
the  alternate  sheets  coming  out  at  the  same 
end,  and  the  projecting  pieces  being  bent 
together  gives  the  effect  of  a  pair  of  tinfoil 
sheets  insulated  from  each  other,  aggregating 
the  sum  of  all  the  small  ones. 


76  Gas  Lighting 

The  coil  can  now  be  attached  to  the  base  by 
means  of  screws  passing  through  the  lid  into 
the  coil  ends.  If  a  vibrating  contact  breaker 
be  desired,  reference  to  Fig.  44  will  show 


FIG.  48. 

method  of  connection.  .  Fig.  47  shows  details 
of  a  contact  breaker  of  similar  design.  R  is 
hammer  head  of  soft  iron,  ^  a  spring  about 
thickness  of  clock  spring  and  f  inch  wide 
or  more.  B  is  contact  point,  both  spring  and 
adjustment  screw  A  being  fitted  with  platinum 
contacts.  C  is  a  check  nut,  to  hold  A  from 
turning.  /  is  an  adjustment  to  tighten  or 


Lighting  of  Large  Buildings  77 

loosen  spring  S,  by  means  of  a  lug  which  it 
carries  on  its  shaft.  It  is  well  insulated  from 
pillar  carrying  A,  by  the  hard  rubber  bush- 
ing, /. 

The  condenser  is  laid  in  the  box  under  the 
coil  and  attached  as  in  Fig.  44;  that  is,  one 
set  of  sheets  to  the  contact  pillar,  and  the 
other  set  to  the  adjustment  screw. 

For  gas-lighting  work,  it  is  generally 
preferable  to  use  a  contact  or  strap  •  key 
(Fig.  48),  instead  of  a  vibrator.  The  key 
can  be  mounted  on  coil  base,  in  which  case 
the  condenser  will  be  attached  in  same  manner 
as  for  the  vibrator. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

How  TO  SELECT  BATTERIES  FOR  GAS 
LIGHTING. 

Before  entering  into  a  description  of  the 
various  batteries  used  in  electric  gas  lighting, 
it  will  be  well  to  briefly  consider  a  few  simple 
electrical  rules  bearing  upon  the  subject. 

A  current  of  electricity  has  electromotive 
force,  or  difference  of  potential  figured  in 
volts,  and  current  figured  in  amperes. 

For  example  we  will  use  the  water  analogy 
(Fig.  49).  Two  tanks,  A  B,  on  the  same 
level,  are  connected  by  a  pipe  C. 

Supposing  tank  A  be  filled  with  water  and 
the  pipe,  C,  to  be  opened ;  the  water  .will  flow 
along  C  into  B  until  the  level  in  each  tank  is 
equal.  So  long  as  there  is  a  difference  of 
level,  there  will  be  a  pressure  in  C,  owing  to 
the  water  behind  it. 

Replacing  the  tanks  A  and  B  by  unequally 
electrified  bodies,  and  the  pipe  C  by  a  con- 
ductor of  electricity,  the  flow  of  water  is  rep- 


HOTV  to  Select  Batteries  79 

resented  by  the  tendency  of  the  electrified 
bodies  to  equalize  themselves  by  a  flow  of 
current  along  the  conductor,  C. 

To  sum  up :  The  difference  of  level  is  now 
difference  of  potential,  the  pounds  pressure 
along  the  pipe  being  expressed  as  electro- 
motive force  in  volts. 

The   quantity   of   water   flowing  along  the 


FIG.  49. 

pipe  is  measured,  as  electricity  ,  in  amperes. 
As  the  quantity  of  water  passing  in  a  given 
time  is  regulated  by  the  size  of  the  pipe  and 
its  own  pressure,  so  the  quantity  of  electricity 
is  also  regulated.  A  conductor  of  electricity 
offers  resistance  to  the  flow  of  current  accord- 
ing to  its  sectional  area  and  the  material  of 
which  it  is  composed,  this  resistance  being  ex- 
pressed in  ohms'.  The  greater  the  voltage  and 
lower  the  resistance,  the  more  current.  This 


8o  Gas  Light  :i  g 

law,    and    its    kindred    applications,    are    ex- 
pressed as  follows  : 


C  is  current  in  amperes,  E  electromotive  force 
in  volts,  and  R  resistance  in  ohms. 

Thus  a  wire  with  a  resistance  of  50  ohms 
would  pass  2  amperes  with  an  electromotive 
force  of  100  volts.  To  find  resistance  when 
other  two  factors  are  known,  the  formula  is 

*.*. 

In  selecting  a  battery  for  work,  regard 
must  be  made  to  the  current  required,  and  its 
period  of  flow.  For  energizing  a  gas  lighting 
primary  coil,  the  current  must  be  large,  but  .is 
only  required  occasionally,  the  battery  stand- 
ing idle  for  long  periods.  In  this  case  the 
class  called  open  circuit  cells  are  preferable, 
as  they  contain  no  strong  acids  and  do  not 
deteriorate  to  any  extent  when  not  in  use. 
Of  such  class  is  the  Leclanche-Samson, 
Monarch,  carbon  cylinder,  and  most  so-called 
dry  cells.  As  the  resistance  in  a  condttc- 


How  to  Select  Batteries 


81 


tor  affects  the  current  flow,  so  it  does  in  a 
battery  cell ;  the  internal  resistance  of  a  battery 
is  determined  by  its  size,  proximity  of  the 
elements,  etc.  Cells  with  small  zincs  and 
porous  cups  are  of  high  internal  resistance, 
those  with  large  sheet  zincs  and  big  carbon 
surfaces,  of  low  internal  resistance.  As  the 
primary  coil  used  in  gas  lighting  is  never 
much  over  one  ohm,  a  cell  of  low  internal  re- 
sistance should  be  selected.  But  as  the  wires 


FIG.  50. 

leading  to  the  burners  must  be  taken  into 
account,  a  number  of  cells  should  be  used  to 
produce  enough  electromotive  force  to  over- 
come the  added  resistance.  Now  battery  cells 
can  be  arranged  in  a  variety  of  ways — in  series 
for  higher  electromotive  force,  and  in  multi- 
ple— for  greater  current. 

Fig.  50  represents  the  series  arrangement; 
here  the  zinc  of  one  cell  is  connected  to  the 
carbon  of  the  next;  this  adds  the  electro- 


82 


Gas  Lighting 


motive  forces  together  and  thus  gives  greater 
ability  to  overcome  resistance,  but  it  also 
adds  together  the  resistance  of  each  cell.  Thus 
4  cells,  each  2  volts  and  of  one-half  ohm  in- 
ternal resistance,  would,  in  series,  have  an 
E.  M.  F.  of  8  volts  and  an  internal  resistance 
of  2  ohms,  current  4  amperes.  Fig.  51  shows 
four  cells  in  multiple,  the  zinc  of  each  cell  and 
the  carbons  of  each  cell  are  connected.  Here 
the  result  would  be  but  2  volts,  but  the  in- 


FIG.  51. 

ternal  resistance  would  be  only  one-quarter, 
viz :  one-eighth  of  an  ohm,  current  16 
amperes. 

The  readiest  rule  for  connecting  a  battery 
is  to  arrange  it  according  to  the  .resistance  of 
the  line  or  outside  wiring.  So  as  we  will 
have  to  use  house-wiring  far  exceeding  in 
length  that  on  the  coil,  and  probably  of  less 
diameter.  Therefore  the  series  arrangement 
will  be  the  one  to  use,  and  not  less  than  four 
cells  of  a  low-resistance  batterv. 


How  to  Select  Batteries  83 

THE  LECLANCHE. 

This  battery  consists  of  a  carbon  rod  sur- 
rounded by  granular  peroxide  of  manganese 
forming  the  positive  pole  and  a  piece  of  zinc 
for  the  negative  pole,  both  elements  being  im- 
mersed in  a  solution  of  sal  ammoniac  (chloride 
of  ammonia).  If  a  wire  be  run  outside  the 
solution  and  connecting  the  carbon  and  zinc, 
a  current  of  electricity  flows  along  it.  The 
chemical  action  taking  place  is  as  follows : 
The  zinc  combines  with  the  chlorine  of  the 
solution,  liberating  free  hydrogen  and  am- 
monia. The  hydrogen  appears  at  the  carbon, 
where  it  is  acted  upon  by  the  oxygen  of  the 
peroxide  of  manganese.  If  too  much  current 
is  taken  from  the  cell,  that  is,  if  the  wire  or 
circuit  be  of  tco  low  resistance,  the  oxidizing 
action  of  the  peroxide  is  not  rapid  enough, 
and  a  film  of  hydrogen,  which  is  a  poor  con- 
ductor, forms  over  the  carbon  and  increases 
the  resistance  of  the  battery — also  setting  up 
what  is  termed  "local  action"  (actually,  a 
battery  opposing  a  battery). 

After  a  rest,  the  hydrogen  is  absorbed, 
but  a  cell  rarely  regains  its  pristine 


84 


Gas  Lighting 


activity  after  too  severe  demands  upon 
it.  The  original  Leclanche  batteries  were 
imported  from  France,  the  home  of  the 
inventor,  but  of  recent  years  they  are 


FIG.  52. 

made  in  the  United  States,  England  and 
Germany.  The  most  important  point  to  be 
considered  in  a  galvanic  cell  is  the  purity  of 
its  active  parts.  The  zincs  should  be  as  near 


How  to  Select  Batteries  85 

chemically  pure  as  can  be  obtained ;  the  perox- 
ide of  manganese  of  the  best  quality  and  per- 
fectly free  from  foreign  substances,  and  the 
sal  ammoniac  the  purest  that  can  be  manu- 
factured. The  actual  difference  in  work  be- 
tween a  battery  so  constructed,  and  the 
average  cheap  cell  sold  at  a  price  to  catch  the 
unwise,  is  tremendous.  And  this  difference  is 
indicated,  not  only  in  work,  but  when  the  bat- 
tery is  at  rest.  Local  action  in  a  cheap 
battery  will  exhaust  it  even  when  it  is  not  in 
circuit,  whereas  a  battery  cell  of  good  material 
will  remain  in  good  order  for  months 
without  more  attention  than  the  addition  of 
water  or  sal  ammoniac.  It  has  been  often 
remarked  that  the  batteries  made  to-day  are 
inferior  to  those  made  years  ago,  but  it  is 
only  true  of  the  cheap-priced  cells ;  if  a  good 
price  is  paid  and  attention  given  to  securing 
a  well  made  cell,  the  output  will  be  as  satis- 
factory. 

To  set  up  a  Leclanche  cell,  proceed  as 
follows :  Put  six  ounces  of  sal  ammoniac  into 
the  glass  jar ;  fill  the  jar  one-third  full  of  clear 
water  and  stir.  Put  in  the  porous  cup  and  fill 
the  jar  with  water  up  to  its  neck,  pouring  a 
few  teaspoonfuls  of  water  into  the  hole  in 


86  Gas  Lighting 

porous  cup.  When  the  cell  is  in  working 
condition,  the  level  of  the  solution  will  be 
found  to  have  receded,  owing  to  absorption 
by  the  porous  cup.  To  prevent  the  creeping 
of  sal  ammoniac  up  the  neck  of  jar  and  on  to 
the  terminals  of  the  cell,  a  layer  of  paraffin  is 
applied  to  neck  of  jar  and  porous  cup. 
Should  this  need  renewing,  vaseline  can  be 
used,  or  any  heavy  grease,  care  being  taken 
that  it  does  not  get  on  electrodes  or  where 
the  wires  are  to  be  fastened.  When  the  cell 
refuses  to  work,  throw  out  old  solution,  wash 
porous  cup,  jar  and  zinc  in  warm  water,  and 
replace  with  new  solution.  There  is  a  limit, 
when  a  new  porous  cup  must  be  used,  but  this 
can  be  done  when  cell  does  not  work  after 
being  treated  as  atove.  The  electromotive 
force  of  the  Leclanche  cell  is  about  1.45,  and 
current  on  short  circuit  of  nearly  one  ampere, 
depending  of  course  on  thickness  and  porosity 
of  porous  cup,  size  of  zinc,  and  a  few  other 
points. 

THE  SAMSON  CELL. 

Fig-  53  is  one  of  the  Leclanche  group,  in 
which  a  compound  carbon  element  dis- 
places the  earthenware  porous  cup.  This 


How  to  Select  Batteries  87 

carbon  is  composed  of  two  parts,  a  hollow- 
fluted  lower  piece  and  a  threaded  top,  which 
carries  the  binding  post.  In  the  process  of 
manufacture,  the  top  piece  is  heated  red-hot 
and  plunged  into  hot  paraffin  wax,  thus  ensur- 
ing a  complete  diffusion  of  the  paraffin  through- 


FIG.  53- 

out  the  carbon.  In  this  way  the  creeping  of  salt 
or  solution,  and  consequent  corrosion  of  elec- 
trodes and  failure  of  cell,  are  avoided.  The 
lower  portion  is  much  more  porous  than  the 
upper  and  is  filled  with  a  combination  of  pea- 
carbon  and  peroxide  of  manganese  held  in  by  a 


88  Gas  Lighting 

plug  at  the  bottom.  This  plug  can  be  re- 
moved and  new  depolarizer  added.  Directions 
given  by  the  manufacturers  for  renewing  this 
element  are  to  hold  the  lower  end  of  the  car- 
bon over  a  burner  flame  until  the  plug  is  soft- 
ened and  can  be  removed,  or  to  immerse  the 
extreme  lower  end  of  the  carbon  in  boiling 
water.  After  refilling,  a  cork  plug  can  be 
used. 

The  E.  M.  F.  of  the  No.  2  size  is  from  1.40 
to  1.47  volts,  and  current,  on  short  circuit,  of 
12  to  16  amperes.  The  No.  2  Special  has 
same  E.  M.  F.,  but  current  of  only  5  amperes, 
being  intended  where  strong  current  is  not 
required  but  quick  recuperation.  It  will  be 
seen  that  this  cell  is  far  more  suited  to 
electric  gas-lighting  work  than  the  simple 
Leclanche,  owing  to  its  great  current  delivery. 

THE  DRY  CELL. 

Of  so-called  dry  cells  there  are  numbers 
on  the  market  at  so  low  a  price  that  it  does 
not  pay  to  make  one's  own.  But  for  those 
who  wish  to  'do  so,  the  following  formula, 
furnished  by  Mr.  Wm.  Roche,  of  New  Stand- 
ard battery  fame,  will  be  found  excellent : 


How  to  Select  Batteries  89 

One  pint  CLEAR  WATER. 

Five  ounces  sal  ammoniac. 

Six  ounces  zinc  chloride. 

Dissolve^  the  sal  ammoniac  in  the  water 
thoroughly.  Let  stand  twenty-four  hours. 
Then  add  the  zinc  chloride,  and  when  cool, 
will  be  ready  for  use. 

When  you  have  your  zinc  cup  ready,  pour 
a  little  wax  in  the  bottom,  to  insulate ;  place  a 
piece  of  blotting-paper  inside  cup  and  laying 
tight  against  the  zinc,  about  three  turns.  The 
negative  element  is  prepared  as  follows :  One 
pound  pure  carbon,  powdered ;  one  pound 
black  oxide  manganese ;  mix  thoroughly. 
Then  add  sufficient  of  above  solution  to 
hold  it  together  without  being  plastic,  as  that 
would  be  too  wet  to  tamp. 

Moisten  your  paper  in  the  zinc  cup 
thoroughly.  Place  your  stick  or  plate  of 
carbon  in  centre  of  zinc  cup,  hold  it  there 
central  while  you  pack  in  the  carbon  manga- 
nese element  all  around  it;  be  sure  that  car- 
bon manganese,  or  negative  element,  does  not 
touch  zinc  cup.  If  it  does,  your  cell  will  run 
down  quickly.  It  is  a  good  precaution  to 
have  your  paper  half  an  inch  higher  than  cup 


90  Gas  Lighting 

when  in  the  cup,  and  soaked  with  the  solution. 
Give  it  a  couple  of  quick  taps  on  the  bench; 
that  will  curl  the  paper  in  at  the  bottom  and 
insure  against  any  internal  short  circuit. 
When  your  cell  is  filled  up,  clean  all  the  car- 


FIG.  54- 

bon  element  away  from  the  zinc.  Seal,  and 
your  battery  is  ready  when  you've  got  the 
connections  on. 


THE  NEW  STANDARD  DRY  CELL. 

The   principal   sizes   of   this   cell  (Fig.  54) 
are  as  follows : 


How  to  Select  Batteries  91 

No.  2— sJ  X  2^ 
No.  3—33  X  if. 
No.  5—6X2^6 
No.  6—6  X  3- 
No.  7—7  X  3- 

The  electromotive  force  is  1.5  volts  current 
of  the  No.  7  size  on  short  circuit,  24  amperes. 
Nos.  2,  5,  6,  or  7  are  most  suitable  for  electric 
gas  lighting,  either  by  simple  primary  coil  or 
jump  spark  coil. 

THE  EDISON  LALANDE  CELL. 

This  cell  (Fig  55),  gives  a  large,  steady 
current  and  is  of  low  internal  resistance,  but 
its  electromotive  force  is  not  high,  being  less 
than  .7  volt  on  closed  circuit.  Its  output  of 
current  varies  with  the  size,  type  5  being 
.025  ohn  internal  resistance  and  capacity  of 
300  ampere-hours.  The  Edison  Lalande  cell 
can  be  applied  to  electric  gas  lighting  in  cases 
where  a  large  demand  is  made  upon  the  bat- 
tery, for  example  in  church  or  theatre  light- 
ing. 

Its  elements  consist  of  positive  plates  of 
amalgamated  zinc  suspended  on  each  side  of 
negative  plates  of  black  oxide  of  copper.  The 


92  Gas  Lighting 

electrolyte  is  an  aqueous  solution  of  caustic 
soda.  A  layer  of  heavy  paraffin  oil  is  poured 
on  top  of  the  solution  to  prevent  the  solution 
from  evaporating  and  also  to  keep  the  soda 
crystals  from  creeping  up  and  over  the  rim 
of  the  jar. 


FIG.  55- 

To  set  up  an  Edison  Lalande  cell,  fill  the 
jar  up  to  the  brown  mark  with  clear  water; 
pour  in  the  soda  from  the  tin  box,  and  stir. 
When  thoroughly  dissolved,  pour  on  top  of 
the  solution  one  half-inch  layer  of  the  oil 
which  is  sent  with  the  battery.  Then  the 


How  to  Select  Batteries  93 

elements  attached  to  the  cover  can  be  inserted, 
and  the  cell  is  ready  for  use. 

Use  care  not  to  splash  the  solution,  as  it 
will  burn  the  clothing  and  skin.  If  any 
does  get  on,  a  little  animal  grease  or  vegetable 
oil  will  quickly  saponify  it. 

In  the  action  of  this  cell  the  oxide  of  copper 
is  reduced  to  metallic  copper  and  the  zincs 
consumed,  it  being  intended  that  each  element 
will  require  renewal  at  the  same  time.  Upon 
picking  into  the  oxide  plate  with  a  sharp- 
pointed  instrument,  if  the  plate  is  red  through- 
out, it  is  exhausted ;  but,  should  it  show  black 
in  its  interior,  it  is  still  capable  of  a  little  more 
use,  but  is  preferable  to  use  a  new  plate  when- 
ever there  is  but  little  oxide  left. 

Never  remove  the  oxide  plates  from  the 
battery,  and  do  not  allow  the  solution  to  be 
less  than  one  inch  above  oxide  plates. 

THE  FULLER,  OR  BICHROMATE  CELL. 

Although  not  often  necessary  in  gas-lighting 
work,  there  is  at  times  a  demand  for  a  heavy 
current,  such  as  in  lighting  a  big  building, 
where  a  large  coil  must  be  operated.  At  such 
times  a  bichromate  of  potash  cell  becomes  of 


94 


Gas  Lighting' 


service.  One  of  the  types  is  shown  in  Fig.  56. 
/  is  a  jar  containing  electropoion  fluid  de- 
scribed below.  C  is  a  carbon  plate  immersed 
in  this  fluid.  P  is  a  porous  cup  holding  the 
zinc,  Z,  and  being  filled  with  a  solution  of  18 
parts  common  salt,  72  parts  water,  and  one 
ounce  mercury. 

The  electropoion  fluid  for  the  outer  jar  is 


FIG.  56. 

made  by  one  pound  bichromate  of  potash  or 
soda  to  one  gallon  of  water,  mixing  in  a  stone 
vessel.  When  dissolved,  add  three  pounds 
commercial  sulphuric  acid  carefully,  a  little 
at  a  time,  and  stir  the  mixture  constantly  as  it 
gets  hot.  Always  add  the  acid  to  the  mixture ; 
never  attempt  to  pour  the  mixture  into  the 
acid,  or  trouble  will  result.  The  sodium  salt 
is  preferable  to  the  potassium,  owing  to  its 


How  to  Select  Batteries 


95 


greater  solubility  and  its  not  forming  chrome 
alum — a  hard  precipitate  which  sticks  to  jars, 
elements,  etc.,  to  their  detriment. 

Fig.   57,  a  form  of  battery  known  as  the 
Grenet   battery,    is    used    where   there    is    no 


FIG.   57- 

porous  cup.  The  zinc  element,  Z,  is  mounted 
on  a  rod  R  passing  through  the  cap  G  of  a 
glass  jar,  /,  and  can  be  raised  or  lowered  into 
the  electropoion  fluid  which  the  jar  contains. 
This  is  a  good  scheme  where  the  battery  is 
liable  to  stand  idle  for  a  long  period. 


96  Gas  Lighting 

CARE  OF  OPEN  CIRCUIT  BATTERIES. 

Terminals. — Take  care  that  the  solutions 
do  not  splash  over  terminals;  keep  all  termi- 
nals and  binding  post  screws  clean  and  bright. 
See  that  all  wires  are  tightly  clamped  in 
terminals,  also  that  their  ends  are  clean.  A 
loose  contact  is  productive  of  infinite  trouble. 
Examine  connections  that  elements  are  in 
proper  relation  to  each  other.  If  in  multiple, 
to  produce  large  current — zincs  together  and 
carbons  together.  If  in  series,  for  high 
electromotive  force — zinc  to  carbon,  through- 
out battery. 

Zincs, — See  that  the  zincs  are  clean ;  if  crys- 
tals form,  either  reduce  strength  of  solution 
with  water,  or  scrape  zincs  clean,  and  watch  if 
repeated.  Examine  screw  which  holds  wire; 
it  often  corrodes,  and  makes  poor  contact  in 
the  thread. 

A  clever  device  for  preserving  a  rod  zinc 
from  the  accumulation  of  crystals  is  made  by 
the  manufacturers  of  the  Samson  cell.  It  con- 
sists of  a  thin  paper  tube  which  is  slipped 
over  the  zinc.  When  the  crystals  accumulate 
so  as  to  impair  the  cell,  the  tube  is  slipped  off 
and  a  new  one  put  on.  This  device  increases 


How  to  Select  Batteries  97 

the  internal  resistance  of  the  cell  but  very 
slightly. 

Porous  cups  and  carbons. — Wash  in  warm 
water.  Carbons  can  be  well  soaked  in  warm 
water  and  dried  in  sun,  in  a  place  where  they 
will  not  accumulate  dust.  Porous  cups  should 
be  well  soaked  in  warm  water,  and  left  to 
drain  in  a  place  exposed  to  dustless  air. 
Examine  binding  post  holes  and  screws. 

Solutions. — Do  not  make  too  strong.  Use 
not  more  than  six  ounces,  or  more  than  four 
ounces  averdupois,  of  chemically  pure  sal 
ammoniac  to  one  cell  Leclanche.  Warm 
water  can  be  used  for  making  solutions,  if 
desired.  Some  persons  drop  a  teaspoonful  of 
acetic  acid  in  the  cell ;  it  is  not  recommended. 
If  in  a  place  where  sal  ammoniac  cannot  be 
procured,  use  temporarily  common  table-salt 
in  same  proportion ;  thoroughly  well  clean 
battery  first. 

Batteries  should  be  kept  in  a  cool  dry  place. 
Dry  cells  should  stand  upright,  also  in  a  cool 
place,  and  an  examination  made  once  in  a 
while  of  the  connections. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

ACETYLENE  Burner   16 

Argand  Automatic  Burner 23 

Argand  Burner 14 

Automatic  Burner  19 

BATTERIES,  open  circuit \ 2 

Boston  Cut-Out  51 

Breaks,  to  locate 34 

Burner,  Acetylene 16 

Burner,  Argand   14 

Burner,  Argand  Automatic , 23 

Burner,  Automatic 19 

Burner,   Bartholdi    21 

Burners,    choice   of 30 

Burner,  Concealed  Automatic 24 

Burners,  Connecting 26 

Burners,  Distribution  of 30 

Burner,  Gasolene 18 

Burner,    Pendant    7 

Burner,  Ratchet   10 

Burner,  Ring 23 

Burner,  Stem 13 

Burner,  Smith , 56 

Burner,  Vibrator   23 

Burner,  Welsbach 15 

CHOICE  of  Burners 30 

Clockwork  Cut-Out : 52 

Coil,   Primary   5,  46 

Coil,  Ruhmkorff  6 

Coil,  Secondary 5 

Connections  of  Burners 26 

Connections  to  ground 38 

Contact  Breaker 75 


100  Index 

Cut-Out,  Boston 51 

Cut-Out,  Bulb 54 

Cut-Out,  Clockwork 52 

Cut-Out,  Syracuse / 50 

DANGER  of  Burners 30 

Defects  in  Burners < 29 

Diagram  of  Wiring 31 

Door-Trip 43 

EDWARDS'  Burner  61 

Edwards'  Condenser 60 

Edwards'  System  62 

FINISHED  houses,  wiring  of 38 

Fixtures,  wiring  of 40 

Frontispiece 31 

Fuller  Battery  . : 94 

GALVANOMETER 3 

Gasolene  Burner 18 

Gas-fixture  wire  37 

Grenet  Battery   95 

Ground  connections 38 

HALL,  Burners  for 30 

INDUCED    Current 3 

Induction,  Action  of 3 

Insulator 59 

JUMP  Spark  System 55 

KEY  Strap 76 

LALANDE  Battery 92 

Leclanche  Battery   83 

MULTIPLE,  Batteries  in 82 

NEGATIVE  pole  2 

OPEN  circuit  batteries 2 

PENDANT  Burner .- 7,  9 

Positive  pole  2 


Index  101 

PAGE 

Primary  Coils 46 

Push  Button,  to  wire 42 

RATCHET  Burner 10 

Ring  Burner 23,  63 

Ruhmkorff  Coil   6,  67 

SAMSON  Battery 87 

Secondary  Coil   5 

Section  Switch 33 

Series  method  ' 57 

Series,  Batteries  in 82 

Shellac  varnish 38 

Smith  Burner   55 

Sparks,  to  produce I 

Spool 70 

Standard  Battery  90 

Stem  Burner  13 

Switch,  Automatic 66 

Switch,  high  tension 64 

Switch,  Section 33 

Syracuse  Cut-Out   50 

System,  Edwards'   62 

TRAILER 66 

VARNISH  Shellac  38 

Vibrator  Burner 23 

WELSBACH  Burner  15 

Wimshurst  Machine   I 

Winding  Coil 74 

Wire  for  general  use 36 

Wire,  gas-fixture   37 

Wire,  office 36 

Wire,  Ruhnikorff  Coil 70 

Wiring  finished  houses.  . . 38 

Wiring  of  Fixtures. 40 

Wiring  of  Push  Button 42 


{Jew  Standard  Dry  Battery 

All  sizes  for  all  systems  of  Bells, 
Telephones,  Burglar  Alarms  and  Gas 
Lighting.  Prices  according  to  size 
and  quantity. 

New    Standard    «•  Autogas" 
Dry  Battery 

For  very  heavy  work.  Gas  Mobiles, 
Lights,  etc.  No.  2  set,  weight  27  Ibs., 
neat  oak  case,  $6.00  per  set. 

New  Standard  Jump  Spark 

Rhumkorf  Coils,  $12.00  each. 

New    Standard     Flashlight. 

For  use  around  Gasolene  Engines, 
Automobiles,  Launches,  Clothes 
Closets,  etc.  $2.co  each. 

This  light  will  positively  give  equal 
to  fifteen  hours  actual  service.  A 
$5.00  article  for  $2.co. 

Complete  catalogue  for  the  asking. 


William  Rocne, 

Inventor  and  M'f'r, 

42VeseySt.,        N.Y.City 

Dealer    in    Battery     flaterials, 
Chemicals,  Etc. 


Have  a   Look 

Into    our    Store 

when  in  need  of  anything 
in  the  Electrical  line  of 
whatever  nature*  &  &  & 
We  deal  in  everything  and 
carry  a  good  stock,  &  & 

CATALOGUE  ON 
Electric  Light  Goods,  Bells, 
and  Electric  House  Goods, 
Switchboards,  &c. 
Telephones  and 
Supplies. 

J.  JONE5  &  SON, 

64  Cortlandt  St.,    New  York  City. 


JUMP  SPARK  COILS 

Medical 
Coils. 


C.  F.  SPLITDORF,  17-27  Vandewater  St.,  N.  Y. 

AMERICAN  BOOKS. 

Allen,  C.  F*.  Railroad  Curves  and  Earth  wont. 
A  pocketbook  for  Surveyors  and  Engineers. 
Limp  leather,  $2.00. 

Cordeiro,  Dr.  F.  J.  B.  The  Barometical  De- 
termination of  Heights,  Levelling  and  Hypsso- 
metry.  Limp  leather,  $1.00. 

<;<>l<liiii>  limn,  A*  H.  The  Design  and  Con- 
struction of  Oil  Engines,  with  full  Instructions 
for  their  Erecting,  Testing,  Running  and  Re- 
pairing. i2mo,  cloth,  $2.00. 

Kiiiealy,  J.  H.  An  Elementary  Text-Book  on 
Steam  Engines  and  Boilers.  Third  edition, 
cloth  $2.00. 

Kiiieal> ,  J.  H.  Steam  Heating  Charts  for  the 
use  of  Architects  and  Builders  in  Estimating  the 
Necessary  Heat  Required  for  Buildings.  $i.co. 

Redwood,  I.  I.  Lubricants,  Oils  and  Greases. 
Cloth,  $1.50. 

We  flail  All  Books  Postpaid  on  Receipt  of  Price. 
ADDRESS  : 

SPOT*     &    CHAMBKRI.AIN, 

I*  Cortlanclt  Street,  New  York, 


SHALL  ACCUMULATORS 

How  Made  and  Used 

A  Practical  Handbook  for  Students  and  Young 
Electricians 

EDITED  BY  PERCIVAL  MARSHALL,  A.I.M.B. 


Contents  of  Chapters 

1. — The  Theory  of  the  Accumulator. 
II. — How  to  make  a  4-Volt  Pocket  Accumulator. 
III. — How  to  make  a  32-Ampere-Hour  Accumulator. 
IV. — Types  of  Small  Accumulators. 
V. — How  to  Charge  and  Use  Accumulators. 
VI. — Applications  of  Small  Accumulators,  Electrical  Nov- 
elties, etc.     Useful  Receipts.     Glossary  of  Technical  Terms. 

80  pages,  40  illustrations,  12mo,  cloth,  50c. 


THE  MAGNETO -TELEPHONE 

ITS  CONSTRUCTION, 
Fitting  Up  and  Adaptability  to  Every=Day  Use 

BY  NORMAH  HUGHES 


CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTERS 

Some  electrical  considerations  :  I. — Introductory.  II. — 
Construction.  III. — Lines,  Indoor  Lines.  IV. — Signalling 
Apparatus.  V. — Batteries.  Open  Circuit  Batteries.  Closed 
Circuit  Batteries.  VI. — Practical  Operations.  Circuit  with 
Magneto  Bells  and  Lightning  Arresters.  How  to  Test  the 
Line.  Push-Button  Magneto  Circuit.  Two  Stations  with 
Battery  Bells.  VII.— Battery  Telephone.  Battery  Tele- 
phone Circuit.  Three  Instruments  on  one  Line.  VIII. — 
General  remarks.  Index. 
80  pages,  23  illustrations,  12mo,  cloth,  $1.00.  In  paper,  50c. 


EVERYBODY'S  BOOK  ON  ELECTRICITY 

PRACTICAL  ELECTRICS 

A  UNIVERSAL  HANDY-BOOK 

ON 

EVERYDAY  ELECTRICAL  MATTERS 


EDITION 


CONTENTS: 

Alarms. — Doors  and  Windows  ;  Cisterns ;  Low  Water  in 
Boilers  ;  Time  Signals  ;  Clocks.  Batteries. — Making;  Cells; 
Bichi  ornate  ;  Bunsen  ;  Callan's  ;  Copper-oxide  ;  Cruiksnank's ; 
Daniel's;  Granule  carbon;  Groves;  Insulite ;  Leclanche ; 
Lime  Chromate  ;  Silver  Chloride  ;  Smee ;  Thermo-electric. 
.#£//.?.— Annunciator  System ;  Double  System ;  and  Telephone  ; 
Making;  Magnet  for;  Bobbins  or  Coils;  Trembling;  Single 
Stroke;  Continuous  Ringing.  Connections.  Carbons.  Coils. 
—Induction  ;  Primary  ;  Secondary  ;  Contact-breakers ;  Re- 
sistance. Intensity  Coils. — Reel ;  Primary  ;  Secondary  ;  Core  ; 
Contact-breaker  ;  Condenser  ;  Pedestal ;  Commutator  ;  Con- 
nections. Dynamo-electric  Mac/lines.— Field-Magnets  ;  Pole- 
pieces  ;  Field-magnet  Coils;  Armature  Cores  and  Coils; 
Commutator  Collectors  and  Brushes;  Relation  of  size  to 
efficiency ;  Methods  of  exciting  Field-Magnets ;  Magneto- 
Dynamos;  Separately  excited  Dynamos;  Shunt  Dynamos; 
Field-Magnets;  Armatures;  Collectors;  Brush  Dynamo; 
Alternate  Currents.  Fire  Risks — Wires;  Lamps;  Danger  to 
persons.  Measuring.— Non-Registering  Instruments  ;  Regis- 
tering Instruments.  Microphones.  Motors.  Phonographs. 
Photophones.  Storage-  Telephones.— Forms',  Circuits  and 
Calls ;  Transmitter  and  Switch  ;  Switch  for  Simplex  ;  etc.,  etc. 

|3S  PAGES.  126  ILLUSTRATIONS,  8VO. 

Cloth,  75  cents 


SAMPLE  COPIES  MAILED  TO  ANY  ADDRESS 
ON  RECEIPT  OF  8  CENTS. 


RERC1VAL    MARSHALL 

ITS  GOOD   POINTS. 

Better  than  any  paper  of  its  kind  ever  published. 

The  articles  are  oiiginal  and  practical. 

The  articles  are  so  clearly  and  simply  written  and  every- 
thing made  so  plain  that  it  will  be  found  easy  to  follow  the 
directions  and  duplicate  the  articles  described. 

Special  articles  on  Model  engines  and  boilers  for  yachts, 
torpedo-boats  and  war-ships. 

Designing  and  building  of  model  yachts  and  boats. 

Making  small  tools  for  model  work. 

The  buLding  of  small  gas  engines. 

Building  screw-cutting  and  turning  lathes. 

Building  all  kinds  of  model  stationary  and  locomotive 
steam  engines  and  boilers. 

Model  engineers  and  their  work. 

Building  9f  all  kinds  of  electrical  machines,  apparatus, 
coils,  batteries,  telephones,  microphones,  phonographs,  nov- 
elties. 

The  articles  are  fully  illustrated,  principally  with  detail 
drawings  to  scale. 

New  Books,  Notes  and  Queries,  Workshop  Notes  and 
Hints,  Tools  and  Supplies,,  etc. 


ANNUAL   SUBSCRIPTION,  $1.5O  POSTPAID 

Send  in  your  subscription  and  get  your  friends  to  subscribe. 
Unused  postage  stamps  will  be  accepted  (not  revenue.}  Ad- 
dress a  (communications  to 

SPON  &  CHAMBERLAIN, 

12  Cortlandt  Street,        .        .        NEW  YORK. 


INDUCTION  COILS 


AND- 


.  COIL  (P0G. 

Construction,  Operation  and  Application. 
By  H.  S.  NORRIE. 


Second  edition,  thoroughly  revised  and  greatly  en- 
larged, and  including  25  new  illustrations.  A  good 
deal  of  the  new  matter  is  devoted  to  Medical  Coils, 
Bath  Coils,  Gas  Engine  and  Spark  Coils,  Contact 
Breakers,  Batteries,  X-Ray  Work,  Electric  Gas 
Lighting,  and  a  chapter  on  Wireless  Telegraphy. 

CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTERS. 

i.  Coil  construction,  full  directions,  sizes  of  wires, 
&c.,  &c.  2.  Construction  of  different  forms  of  con- 
tact breakers.  3.  Insulating  materials,  cements,  &c. 
4.  Construction  of  various  kinds  of  condensers.  5. 
Experiments.  6.  Spectrum  analysis  7.  Currents  in 
vacuo.  8.  Rotating  effects  9.  The  application  of 
coils  to  gas  lighting.  10.  Batteries  for  coils,  n. 
Secondary  Batteries.  12.  Tesla  and  Hertz  effects.  13. 
X-Rays  and  radiography.  14.  Wireless  telegraphy. 
Contents.  Index. 

290  pages,  79  Illus.  5x6^  in. 


manual  of  Instruction  in 

fiard  Soldering 

WITH  AN  APPENDIX  ON  THE 

Repair  of  Bicycle  frames 
notes  on  Jf Hoys  and  a  Chapter  on  Soft  Soldering 

BY  HARVEY  ROWELL 


The  flame,  lamp,  charcoal,  mats,  blow-pipes, 
wash-bottle,  binding- wire,  chemicals,  borax,  spelter, 
silver  solder,  gold  solder,  oxidation  of  metals,  fluxes, 
anti-oxidisers,  oxidation  of  cases,  the  cone,  oxidising 
flame,  reducing  flame,  heat  transmission,  conduction, 
capacity  of  metals,  radiation,  application,  the  work 
table,  the  joint,  applying  solder,  applying  heat,  the 
use  of  the  blow-pipe,  joints,  making  a  ferrule,  to  re- 
pair a  spoon,  to  repair  a  watch  case,  hard  soldering 
with  a  forge  or  hearth,  hard  soldering  with  tongs, 
preserving  thin  edges,  silversmith's  pickle,  restoring 
color  to  gold,  chromic  acid,  to  mend  steel  springs, 
sweating  metals  together,  retaining  work  in  position, 
making  joints,  applying  heat,  preventing  the  loss  of 
heat,  effect  of  sulphur  lead  and  zinc,  to  preserve 
precious  stones,  annealing  and  hardening,  burnt  iron, 
to  hard  solder  after  soft  solder.  Tables  of — specific 
gravity,  tenacity,  fusibility,  alloys. 

66  pages,  illustrated,  cloth,  75  cents. 


For  Soldering  Receipts,  Cements  and  Lutes,  Pastes,  Glues 
and  such  like,  see  WORKSHOP  RECEIPTS. 


NEW 

EDITION  "DE  LUXE" 


ON  HEAVY  PLATE  PAPER 


ITS  GOOD  POINTS. 

Very  easy  to  learn. 

A  rapid  method  to  become  a  good  letterer  with  a 
tittle  practice. 

Very  easy  to  lay  out  a  line  of  words  in  STRICT 
PROPORTION,  whether  it  be  on  a  fence  500  yards  long 
or  on  a  drawing  only  a  few  inches  across. 

Good  for  draughtsmen  who  prefer  neat  lettering, 
yet  something  out  of  the  ordinary. 

It  contains  26  pages  of  alphabets  whose  modifica- 
tions are  almost  limitless. 

One  of  the  cheapest  in  the  market. 


This  little  book  will  be  appreciated  by  draughtsmen  who  wish  to 
use  plain  letters  (and  yet  somewhat  different  from  the  ordinary  run  of 
letters)  for  the  titles  on  drawings.  The  book  will  also  be  valuable 
and  useful  to  any  one  who  has  had  no  practice  in  lettering,  as  the 
easy  method  given  for  forming  the  letters  will  enable  a  person  to 
form  the  letters  correctly,  and  with  a  little  practice  to  do  so  quickly. — 
American  Machinist, 

Oblong,  8vo,  cloth,  50  cents 


Workshop  Receipts 

THE  MOST  COMPLETE 

Technical  Cyclopedia  in  5  Vols. 


Principal    Contents.— Bronzes,     Ce- 
merits,    Dyeing,   Electro-metallurgy, 

Enamels. Etchings,  Fireworks,  Fluxes,  Fulminates,  Gilding. 

Gums,    Japanning,   Lacquers,  Marble  Working,   Nitro-Gly- 

cerine,  Photography,  Pottery,  Varnishes,  420  pages,  103  illus., 

cloth,  $2.00. 

C/a/-»rvnrl  CfktMAc  Principal  Contents.  Acidime- 
J^CCUIIU  ^CIIC^.  try,  Albumen  Alcohol,  Alka- 
loids, Bitters,  Bleaching,  Boiler  Incrustations.  Cleansing, 
Cpnfectionery,  Copying,  Disinfectants,  Essences.  Extracts, 
Fire-proofing,  Glycerine.  Gut,  Iodine,  Ivory  Substitutes, 
Leather  Matches  Pigments,  Paint,  Paper,  Parchment.  485 
pages,  16  illus..  cloth,  $2.00. 

THifrl  Qfkfi^ic  Principal  Contents.— Alloys,  Alutni- 
1  I11IU  OCriCS*.  nium>  Antimony,  Copper,  Electrics, 
Enamels,  Glass.  Gold,  Iron.  Steel,  Liquors  Lead.  Lu- 
bricants, Magnesium,  Manganese,  Mercury,  Mica,  Nickel, 
Platinum.  Silver,  Slag,  Tin,  Uranium,  Zinc.  480  pages,  183 
illus.,  cloth,  $2.00. 

PTs\iffi-li  <Zf*vif*c  Principal  Contents.— Water- 
rOUrin  Series,  proofing,  Packing  Stowing, 
Embalming,  Preserving,  Leather  Polishes,  Cooling  Air  and 
Water,  Pumps  and  Siphons,  Dessicating.  Distilling,  Emulsi- 
fying, Evaporating,  Filtering,  Percolating,  Macerating, 
Electrotyping,  Stereotyping,  Book-binding,  Straw-plaiting, 
Musical  Instruments,  Clock  and  Watch  Mending,  Photogra- 
phy 443  pages,  243  illus.,  cloth.  $2.00. 

PTjftH    ^<af*i^c       Principal   Contents. — Diamond   Cut- 

rilLII  OCI  IC».  ting.  Laboratory  Apparatus,  Filter- 
ing, Magic  Lanterns  Metal  Work,  Percolation,  Illuminating 
Agents,  Tobacco  Pipes.  Taps.  Tying  and  Splicing  Tackle, 
Repairing  Books.  Netting,  Walking  Sticks,  Boat-Building. 
440  pages,  373  illus.,  cloth,  $2.00. 

KACH  SCRIKS  lias  its  own  Contents 
and  Index  and  is  complete  in  itself. 


The  Best  and  Cheapest  in  the  Market 


ALGEBRA  SELF-TAUGHT 

FOR  THE  USE  OF 

Mechanics,  Young  Engineers  and  Home  Students 


BY  W.  PAQET  HIGGS,  M.A.,  D.Sc. 


FOURTH  EDITION 

CONTENTS 

Symbols  and  the  signs  of  operation.  The  equa- 
tion and  the  unknown  quantity.  Positive  and  nega- 
tive quantities.  Multiplication,  involution,  exponents, 
negative  exponents,  roots,  and  the  use  of  exponents 
as  logarithms.  Logarithms.  Tables  of  logarithms 
and  proportional  parts.  Transportation  of  systems 
of  logarithms.  Common  uses  of  common  logarithms. 
Compound  multiplication  and  the  binomial  theorem. 
Division,  fractions  and  ratio.  Rules  for  division. 
Rules  for  fractions.  Continued  proportion,  the  series 
and  the  summation  of  the  series.  Examples.  Geo- 
metrical means.  Limit  of  series.  Equations.  Appen- 
dix. Index.  104  pages,  I2mo,  cloth,  6oc. 


See  also  Algebraic  Signs,  Spons'  Dictionary  of 

Kngineering,  No.  2.     40  cts. 

See  also  Calculus,    Supplement   to  Spons'   Dic- 
tionary, No.  5.     75  cts. 


CROSS  SECTION  PAPER. 


THE    HANDY     SKETCHING     PAD. 

Printed  on  one  side,  in  blue  ink,  all  the  lines  being 
of  equal  thickness,  with  useful  tables  Size  8  x  10 
inches.  Price,  250.  each.  Per  dozen  pads,  $2.50. 

THE  HANDY  SKETCHING  BOOK. 

Made  from  this  paper  but  printed  on  both  sides. 
Size  of  book  5x8  inches,  stiff  board  covers.  Price, 
25C.  each  ;  per  dozen  books,  $2.50. 


SCALE  EIGHT  TO   OXE  IIVCH 

A  large  sheet  with  heavy  inch  lines  and  half  inch 
lines,  printed  in  blue  ink.  Size  of  sheet,  17  x  22  in- 
ches. Per  quire  (24  sheets),  750. 


TEX  TO  ONE  INCH. 

Size  17  x  22  inches,  printed  in  blue  ink,  with  heavy 
inch  lines  and  half  inch  lines.  Per  quire  (24  sheets),  750. 

THE  ELECTRICIAN'S  SKETCHING  PAD. 

Size  8  x  10.  Scale  10  to  i  in.  Price  250.  each.  Per 
dozen,  $2.50. 

THE  ELECTRICIAN'S   SKETCHING   BOOK. 

Made  from  this  paper.  Scale  10  to  i  inch.  Size  of 
book  5x8  inches,  with  stiff  board  covers.  Price,  250. 
each  ;  per  dozen,  $2.50. 

Any  quantity  mailed  to  any  part  of  the  world  on  receipt 

of  price. 

Or  Books  and  Pads  Assorted,  per  dozen,  $2.50 

This  paper  is  not  ruled.      Try  it  and  you  will  find  it 

GOOD,  ACCURATE  AND  CHEAP, 


SFOfl  & 


PRACTICAL  HANDBOOK    ON 

<3as  Bnginee 

With  Instructions  for  Care  and  Working  oi  the  Same, 

BYQ.  LIECKFELD,  C.E. 

Translated  with  permission  of  the  Author  by 
GEORGE  RICHMOND,  M.B. 

WITH  A  CHAPTER  ON  OIL  ENGINES 


CONTENTS 

Choosing  and  installing  a  gas  engine.  The  con- 
struction of  good  gas  engines.  Examination  as  to 
workmanship,  running,  economy.  Reliability  and 
durability  of  gas  engines.  Proper  erection  of  a 
gas  engine.  Foundation.  Arrangement  for  gas  pipes. 
Rubber  bag.  Locking  devices.  Exhaust  pipes.  Air 
pipes.  Setting  up  gas  engines.  Brakes  and  their 
use  in  ascertaining  the  power  of  gas  engines.  Ar- 
rangement of  a  brake  test.  Distribution  of  heat  in  a 
gas  engine.  Attendance  on  gas  engines.  General 
remarks.  Gas  engine  oil.  Cylinder  lubricators. 
Rules  as  to  starting  and  stopping  a  gas  engine.  The 
cleaning  of  a  gas  engine.  General  observations  and 
specific  examination  for  defects.  The  engine  refuses 
to  work.  Non-starting  of  the  engine.  Too  much 
pressure  on  the  gas.  Water  in  the  exhaust  pot. 
Difficulty  in  starting  the  engine.  Irregular  running. 
Loss  of  power.  Weak  gas  mixtures.  Late  ignition. 
Cracks  in  air  inlet.  Back  firing.  Knocking  and 
pounding  inside  of  engine.  Dangers  and  precaution- 
ary measure  in  handling  gas  engines.  Precautions 
when  opening  gas  valves,  removing  piston  from 
cylinder,  examining  with  light  openings  of  gas 
engines.  Dangers  in  starting,  cleaning,  putting  on 
belts.  Oil  Engines.  Gas  engines  with  producer  gas. 
Gasoline  and  oil  engines.  Concluding  remarks. 

120  pages,  illustrated,  1 2mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 


THE 

FIREMAN'S  GUIDE 

A  Handbook  on  the  Care  of  Boilers 

BY  KARL  P.  DAHLSTROM,  M.E. 


CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTERS 

I.  Firing  and   Economy   of    Fuel. — Precautions 
before  and   after  starting  the   fire,  care  of  the  fire, 
proper  firing,  draft,  smoke,  progress  of  firing,  fuel  on 
the  grate,  cleaning  out,  cleaning  grate  bars  and  ash 
pan,  dampers,  firing  into  two   or  more  furnaces,  Arj 
fuel,  loss  of  heat. 

II.  Feed  and  Water  Line. — Feeding,  the  water 
line,  false   water   line,    defective   feeding   apparatus, 
formation   of   scale,    gauge   cocks,    glass   gauge,  the 
float,  safety  plug,  alarm  whistle. 

III.  Low  Water  and   Foaming  or  Priming — 
Precautions  when  water  is  low,  foaming,  priming. 

IV*  Steam  Pressure.— Steam  gauge,  safety  valves. 

V.  Cleaning  and   Blowing  Out. — Cleaning    the 
boiler,  to  examine    the  state  of  the  boiler,  blowing 
out,  refilling  the  boiler. 

VI.  General   Directions.— How  to  prevent  acci- 
dents, repairs,  the  care  of  the  boiler  when  not  in  use, 
testing    boilers,    trimming     and     cleaning     outside. 
Summary  of  rules.     Index. 

8vo,  cloth,  50  cents. 


HOW  TO  RUN 

Engines  and  Boilers 

Practical  Instruction  for  Young  Engineers    and 
Steam   Users. 

BY  EGBERT  POMEROY  WATSON 


REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 


Synopsis  of  Contents 

Cleaning  the  boiler,  removing  scale,  scale  pre- 
venters, oil  in  boilers,  braces  and  stays,  mud  drums 
and  feed  pipes,  boiler  fittings,  grate  bars  and  tubes, 
bridge  walls,  the  slide  valve,  throttling  engine,  the 
piston,  testing  the  slide  valve  with  relation  to  the 
ports,  defects  of  the  slide  valve,  lap  and  lead,  the 
pressure  on  a  slide  valve,  stem  connections  to  the 
valve,  valves  off  their  seats,  valve  stem  guides,  gov- 
ernors, running  with  the  sun,  eccentrics  and  connec- 
tions, the  crank  pin,  brass  boxes,  bearings  on  pins, 
adjustment  of  bearings,  the  valve  and  gearing,  set- 
ting eccentrics,  the  actual  operation,  return  crank 
motion,  pounding,  the  connections,  lining  up  engines, 
making  joints,  condensing  engines,  Torricelli's 
vacuum,  proof  of  atmospheric  pressure,  pumps,  no 
power  in  a  vacuum,  supporting  a  water  column  by 
the  atmosphere,  starting  a  new  plant,  the  highest 
qualities  demanded. 

Water  tube  boilers,  fire  tube  boilers,  why  water 
tube  boilers  steam  rapidly,  torpedo  boat  boilers, 
management  of  water  tube  boilers,  economy  and 
maintenance  of  water  tube  boilers. 

150  pages,  illustrated,  i6mo,  cloth,  $1.00 


THE  CORLISS  ESGIHI. 

BY  JOHN  T.  HENTHORN. 

AND  —  , 

MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  CORLISS  ENGINE. 

BY  CHARLES  D.  THURBER. 
Uniform  in  One  Volume.   Cloth  Cover;  Price,  $1.00. 


Table  of  Contents. 

CHAPTER!. — Introductory  and  Historical;  Steam  Jack- 
eting. CHAPTER  II.— Indicator  Cards.  CHAPTER  III.— 
Indicator  Cards  continued;  the  Governor.  CHAPTER  IV. 
—Valve  Gear  and  Eccentric ;  Valve  Setting.  CHAPTER  V. 
-  Valve  Setting  continued,  with  diagrams  of  same;  Table 
for  laps  of  Steam  Valve.  CHAPTER  VI.— Valve  Setting 
continued.  CHAPTER  VII. — Lubrication  with  diagrams 
for  same.  CHAPTER  VIII. — Discussion  of  the  Air  Pump 
and  its  Management.  CHAPTER  IX.  —Care  of  Main  Driv- 
ing Gears;  best  Lubricator  for  same.  CHAPTER  X.— 
Heating  of  Mills  by  Exhaust  Steam.  CHAPTER  XL— En- 
gine Foundations;  diagrams  and  templets  for  same  CHAP- 
TER XII — Foundations  continued;  Materials  for  sam^,  etc. 


Third  Edition,  with  an  Appendix. 


THE  SLIDE  VALVE 

SIMPLY  EXPLAINED 

By  W0  J.  TENNANT,  Asso.  M.I.M.E. 

REVISED  AND  MUCH  ENLARGED 

BY  J.  H.    KINEALY,  D.E. 

CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTERS: 
I.    The  Simple  Slide. 

II.  The  Eccentric  a  Crank.  Special  Model  to 
Give  Quantitative  Results. 

III.  Advance  of  the  Eccentric. 

IV.  Dead  Centre.     Order  of  Cranks.    Cushion- 

ing and  Lead. 

V.  Expansion— Inside  and  Outside  Lap  and 
Lead ;  Advance  Affected  Thereby. 
Compression. 

VI.    Double-Ported  and  Piston  Valves. 
VII.    The    Effect  of    Alterations    to    Valve    and 

Eccentric. 

VIII.    Note  on  Link  Motions. 

IX.     Note  on  Very  Early  Cut-Off,  and  on  Revers- 
ing Gears  in  General. 

88  Pages.         41  Illustrations.          12mo,  Cloth,  $1.00. 

QUICK   AND    EASY   METHODS 

OF 

CALCULATING 
WITH  THE  SLIDE  RULE 

A  SIMPLE  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  THEORY  AND 

USE  OF  THE  SLIDE  RULE,  LOGARITHMS,  ETC. 

With  numerous  examples  worked  out. 

BY  R.  G.  BLAINE,  M.E. 


A  most  reliable,  practical  and  valuable  work  for  the  engineer. 


144  Pages.  Illustrated,  IZmo,  Cloth,  $1.00 


THEORETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL 


Ammonia  Refrigeration 

'  Reference  for  Engineers  and  others  Empi 
lagement  of  Ice  and  Refrigeration  Machit 

By  ILTYD  I.  REDWOOD 


A  Work  of  Reference  for  Engineers  and  others  Employed  in  the 
Management  of  Ice  and  Refrigeration  Machinery. 


CONTENTS 

B.  T.  U.  Mechanical  Equivalent  of  a  Unit  of  Heat. 
Specific  Heat.  Latent  Heat.  Theory  of  Refrigeration. 
Freezing,  by  Compressed  Air.  Ammonia.  Charac- 
teristics of  Ammonia.  The  Compressor.  Stuffing- 
Boxes.  Lubrication.  Suction  and  Discharge  Valves. 
Separator.  Condenser-Worm,  Receiver.  Refrigera- 
tor or  Brine  Tank.  Size  of  Pipe  and  Area  of  Cooling 
Surface.  Charging  the  Plantwith  Ammonia.  Jacket- 
Water,  for  Compressor,  for  Separator.  Quantity  of 
Condensing  Water  Necessary.  Loss  due  to  Heating 
of  Condensed  Ammonia.  Cause  of  Variation  in  Ex- 
cess Pressure.  Use  of  Condensing  Pressure  in  Deter- 
mining Loss  of  Ammonia  by  Leakage.  Cooling  Di- 
rectly by  Ammonia.  Freezing  Point  of  Brine.  Mak- 
ing Brine.  Specific  Heat  of  Brine.  Regulation  of 
Brine  Temperature.  Indirect  Effect  of  Condensing 
Water  on  Brine  Temperature.  Directions  for  Deter- 
mining Refrigerating  Efficiency.  Equivalent  of  a  Ton 
of  Ice.  Compressor  Measurement  of  Ammonia  Circu- 
lated. Loss  of  Well-Jacketed  Compressors.  Loss  in 
Double-Acting  Compressors.  Distribution  of  Mer- 
cury Wells.  Examination  of  Working  Parts.  Indica- 
tor Diagrams.  Ammonia  Figures — Effectual  Displace- 
ment. Volume  of  Gas.  Ammonia  Circulated  per 
Twenty-Four  Hours.  Refrigerating  Efficiency.  Brine 
Figures — Gallons  Circulated.  Pounds  Circulated.  De- 
grees Cooled.  Total  Degrees  Extracted.  Loss  due  to 
Heating  of  Ammonia  Gas.  Loss  due  to  Heating  of 
Liquid  Ammonia.  Calculation  of  the  Maximum  Ca- 
pacity of  a  Machine.  Preparation  of  Anhydrous  Am- 
monia. Construction  .of  Apparatus,  etc.,  etc. 

150  pages,  15  illustrations,  cloth,  $1.00. 


{^CHIP'S  OWN  BOOK, 

A  PRACTICAL  HANUAL. 

PRINCIPAL  CONTENTS. 
Mechanical  Drawing.    (13  pages). 
Casting  and  Founding.    (31  pages). 
Forging  and  Finishing.     (56  pages.) 
Soldering.    (26  pages). 
Sheet-Metal  Working.     (10  pages). 
Carpentry,  Woods,  Tools,  etc.    (224  pages). 
Cabinet  Making.     (36  pages). 
Carving  and  Fretwork.    (13  pages). 
Upholstery.     (6  pages). 

Painting,  Graining  and  Marbling.    (28  pages). 
Staining,  and  Gilding.    (16  pages). 
Polishing,  Varnishing.     (26  pages). 
Mechanical  Movements.     (56  pages). 
Turning  and  Lathe  work.     (30  pages). 
Masonry,  Stonework,  Brickwork,   Concrete,  etc.    (45 

pages). 

Plastering,  Whitewashing,  Paperhanging.  (13  pages) 
Roofing,  Glazing.    (14  pages). 
Bell  hanging,  Gas  fitting.     (8  pages). 
Lighting,  Ventilation,  Warming.     (21  pages,. 
Foundations,  Roads  and   Bridges,   Banka,   Hedges, 

Ditches  and  Drains,  Water  Supply  and  Sanitation. 

House  Construction,  etc.     Size  of  book  6f  in.  by  8|. 

702  pages,  half  extra  gilt  and  1420  illustrations. 


